Life on the Nickle
by Fruity Sangheili
Summary: 24 years after Unicron's defeat, Earth has fallen back into it's old ways, so have the Autobots. Life for Alexis Thi Dang grows wild again when she runs into Starscream, and later a threat to Humans and Transformers alike. Prime/Unicron Trilogy AU
1. Life on the Nickle

**Hello everyone! I hope you enjoy my second Transformers story, an alternate mix of the Prime and Unicron Trilogy. This story includes another species of mechs, although they're not entirely machine and are biomechanical, and made from scratch by me. This is mostly a romance between Starscream and Alexis, with no species changes, as in Mech to Human or Human to Mech evolution. Nothing against people who like that sort of thing, but everybody's already stuck their finger in that pie, some double-dipping. The pie is abused, moldy, and old now. So I'm going to toss it for something better. The rating will rise in later chapters for violence, gore, death, and increased romantic situations between the star pairing. He and Soundwave are the only who get a female here, with Soundwave getting one of my OC's created specifically for this story. There are other pairings as well, however they take place between my OC's. Reviews for this would actually be appreciated this time around. So I can make it better. Apologies for grammar errors as well.**

**~ Fruity Sangheili**

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><p>The stuffy warmth of the airport did little to relieve the weighing stress over Alexis' head, pounding headache included. She worked her way through the bustling lobby, ignorantly being bumped about brusquely. Behind her, an overfilled bronze duffle bag clacked rhythmically over the tiled floor, reminding the woman to keep track of her belongings. She wasn't looking forward to stepping out into the Jasper, Nevada heat. Although the calls of her group had begun to fall weary over her ears, she pressed forward in her promise to make the world a better place, hence why she moved to Fukuoka's inner city limits. The wide distribution of simple filtering systems for cleaner drinking water to provide the poorer outer limits of Africa with technological advancements, collaborations to make her product more efficient. Shakily stuffing her flopping bucket hat over her rustled amber hair, she traversed into the parking lot, grimacing with the blast of dry, summer air. She could openly admit, it wasn't close to the heat brought on in Texas, but it was sure close enough to near do her in, especially in her weathered state. Her time off was short, with only three months leave left, she decided to reasonably take a month and a half from her busy work life. The sound of bustling left her ringing ears and her head swam as she flunked into the seat of the awaiting bus than idled curbside for interstate travelers. She leaned on the window frame eyes boring dully out at the sky.<p>

_I wonder if the base is still operational… How is Optimus and the gang anyway? I've missed so much, and haven't seen them in years… It's only been, what? Fourteen years since they moved the Nevada canyons?_ Unconsciously, she fingered the chain around her neck that held a small greenish gem. A necklace made from the rock gifted by a certain Transformer nearly 24 years ago. Even now her heart sank when her thoughts of childhood occurred with his haunting face and chilly but secretively kind disposition. A gruesome memory…

The bus driver said something as he entered from rounding the vessel on wheels, having stored her luggage in the trunk. It didn't fully register until she forced herself to focus on the overweight man.

"I'm so sorry, say what?"

"You alright lady?" He removed his hat to scratch his bald head beneath.

She let a tired smile press her thin lips. "Yeah, I'm fine. Once I get to the hotel to crash, I'll be good as new."

"Sure thing lady. It's a six hour drive to Jasper, just so ya know. 'Butcha relax now, there's TV available and a blanket in the overhead compartment to make 'yer travel a bit more relaxing. The seat reclines as well and at any point you're welcome to close 'yer cabin door." He gestured to the lock switch on the door to her personal seating compartment, a crooked smile on his woozy features. She nodded her thanks, waiting till the bus was in motion before taking up on all the amenities the cruiser had to offer. An hour in she was feeling better enough to collapse under the darkness of her soft but thin blanket. Head drooping into the crook of her shoulder before she allowed herself to drift off.

Alexis was roused by the subtle knocking of the bus director, to which she promptly shot a dirty look at when she pulled her face from the hood she created. He only smiled apologetically, instantly making her feel worse than she did. Like a Sunday morning hang over. Technically, Alexis was a weak drinker, having always stuck to a single glass of wine for obvious reasons. Even then she became tipsy.

As she sat forward in her seat, her body in a much more refreshed state, she accounted her items with soon brought satisfaction as they were all accounted for. Her eyes were drawn to the unusual silence around the vessel, and raised a brow at the town she was bound for. Rad lived _here?_ He wasn't kidding when he called it "The Town of Brown". The city seemed quaint, with slight appeal to the average adventurer. Beyond the city limits she could see the faint trim of various greens. Beyond that, towering Nevada canyon ways. Her heart leapt faintly, her imagination unable to conjure the pleased reactions she'd receive from the Big Man himself and his companions. Although being distant, through Rad she kept in touch with the Autobots. For the past 24 years, a generous portion of news she'd gotten was saddening. What with the departure of the original crew, especially Hotshot, whom the kids with played a lot during their stay with the Autobots. She wondered if Optimus kept contact with him.

"Damn." She allowed herself to slip upon dropping to the sidewalk, flushing when she earned a few odd looks from the party of travelers who also departed the bus cabin.

_I hate it when my head feels heavier __**after**__ sleeping in…_ Alexis groaned at her alarm clock sourly, hand smacking the radio off for the day. "Yeesh… At least I won't go insane today." She winced at the bitter flavor in her mouth and sat up to go about her day. The shower refreshed her worn muscles, awakening the strong yearn to eat as well. Going about brushing away the knots from her damp hair, she approached the outlook from her hotel window, green eyes dropping from the dead skyscape to the daily commuters. Rad had moved to Nevada with his wife Odele some time ago, any chance of visiting him was out of the question for the day, he was nearly 3 hours from her current location anyway. She had big bots to visit first. Though it hadn't slipped her mind to call her childhood friend first, knowing that he was unaware of her arrival to the town, planning to surprise him.

"Mm…. I could always wear that." She paused at herself in the mirror on the bathroom door, mulling over her figure critically. She was healthy, fit, a fine example of a female Human being. Her hair much longer than it was when she was 13, having decided to keep the feminine look with the development of her personal tastes. The clothes hardly changed, still tomboyish as ever. Today, she would make an exception and wear a dress for once. It only seemed right to present herself tastefully to them when she visited. Her mouth shrugged in satisfaction, it shifted into a smile with her wandering into the main portion of the hotel room to dress herself in the midnight blue sundress she brought with her. It was something she planned to wear for dinner with Rad and his wife. Shrugging it off, she figured to buy something around the local shopping areas when she could.

Such a relief, to be outside the dreary city limits. Cool air supplied from the wealth of foliage surrounding the unpaved roadway blew her hair about wildly. Her rental 4x4 quaked with the ravaged texture beneath it's tires and it's whining engine partially subdued the rock music blaring from her speakers freely. The beat-up army-vague wasn't the most presentational ride the nearby lot rental could provide, but so long as it got her to her destination, she didn't care. Many of the clerks warned her about the area she was headed, the wildlife known for their nasty demeanors and mostly comprised of Coyotes. Had they the slightest idea of her real intentions for visiting the valley, they'd have swallowed their tongues and gone whiter than the sun. Resting above the valley of her breasts, her necklace swayed nonchalantly with the turns and resonating disturbances in the ride, casting emerald glares about the jeep interior. A mismatching piece to her wardrobe, what with the silver earrings and all, she refused to take it off. Having reached a bend in the road, she glanced to her cell that had vibrated into the crevasse of the vinyl seat. A string of worry gnawed at the back of her mind.

_Should I call to make sure they didn't move? …. I wouldn't think Optimus to just abandon the base without reason, after all, it took so long to move all that equipment from Nebraska without getting caught by those conspiracy loonies. A lot of diggers come around here too… _She whined under her breath with the building uncertainty, eventually shrugging it off with the reassuring fact that if they had indeed moved, she could always call him anyway. The waste of gas replaced with the thought of it being a comforting countryside drive.

"Oh!" She piped up sharply and yanked the jeep to the right onto a secluded and overgrown pathway. Having nearly missed her turn.

_Why is it so choked up with plant life?_ Something that instantly concerned her. This was always the path the Autobots used to head into town… Why was it so poorly maintained now? The grass crept over the dirt twin-trails carved by vehicular activity, packed dirt from repeated use cracked apart with the growth of tree roots, and branches hung low, not been clipped back for years. Maybe they… Directed a new route instead? It was deteriorating after all…

Noticing the sizable cracks beneath the tires, she decided not to best it, exiting after parking the jeep within the foreshadow of the brush. She exchanged her flatly soled dress shoes for her favorite sneakers, mouth scrunching at the combination. "Oh I'll come back for them when I need them…" She sighed with hands on her hips, turning to scour her optional paths. With such unleveled ground to work with, things were going to get hairy no doubt. She set on her brave face, a face that hadn't changed from when she was young, near-marching through the grassy route.

"Not that bad…" She heaved, glancing over her shoulder at the proposed 'mountain' she nearly fell off of a number of times on the decent. Indeed it was steep, the terrain consisted of smooth inclines and jagged cracks hidden from definitive view beneath the clumps of dusty crabgrass. Several times she nearly sampled the 'not-so-tasty' vegetation, and frowned at the skid marks on her dress when the gravel gave way. Grumpily dusting them from the material, she continued onward to the secretive passage way within the freestanding canyon rise. This newer base was sealed with a door painted to resemble the same color tones found in the grains of the mountainside. She bit the inside of her lower lip when she caught no sign of activity, especially with the recent cave in around the base entry, it's door obviously too damaged to proceed any further without the risk of getting crushed if she disturbed it too much. From an open bend in the doorframe, she spied nothing, not a whisper of their being there. The base had been offline coming onto years now.

"Don't tell me they jumped states again. Stupid, I should've called Rad first…" She grumbled before calling out into the eerily dark hall, noticing the panels unceremoniously hanging loose from the walls, bent and broken. Wires strewn across the floor like it had been raided. Possibly. Especially with notable Decepticon activity reported in the Nevada area. "Red Alert? Optimus Prime! Are you in there? It's me, Alexis! They doorway's all banged up over here! What in the world happened?"

"…" The echo of her own voice was all that replied, feeling rather silly now that she found she was talking to herself. With a disappointed sigh, she shuffled down to safer ground and followed the path she climbed in with, out over the rocky pile.

_Well, this sucks… Now I gotta climb all the way…. _Her mental bumbling fell short when the faint hum of a Jet engine overhead caught her attention. Pressing herself into the face of a boulder, her eyes sharply pierced the clear the sky. The hum evolved into a steady scream, and several seconds passed until the culprit, a darkly colored Jet, passed not above, but below the mountain's flat top. It was too close for comfort, and Alexis felt her skin grow cold even as she slid around to hide beside the massive chunk of land matter. Her eyes instantly glued to the familiar purple and foreboding Decepticon insignia on the underside of the Jet. She bristled.

_Not many Jet Deceptions around anymore… I wonder who that is. Obviously up to no good…. I need to follow it, call Rad, have him contact Optimus about this activity… I hope I don't get caught. He's obviously looking for something to be that low to the ground…_ She grimaced at the thought of being caught, careful to remain undetected as she hiked her dress and bolted clumsily for the hillside by her jeep. Tensely, she made it across the open valley, albeit being small, she was still very much vulnerable. Surprisingly, she found herself up the steep incline faster than she did on the way down. Basing it off the fact she now had something serious to pursue, against her better judgment. Quickly, she hammered in the keys, revving the engine to life with a lump in her throat. She nearly tipped it with the speed of her take off, scared to lose to seeker before she could follow.

Part of her wanted to run back to the hotel, call somebody, _anybody_, about the Decepticon activity. As she stuck to the hillside for cover, eyes darting between the jet and the ground before her, her mind jumbled soon with questions she found herself answering as soon as they came up. Part of it was if this was rather an idiotic thing to do, double-checking the wing over and over to ensure she wasn't seeing things. The more she saw the hateful icon, the more she wanted to rip her phone from it's newfound place in the cup holder. None the wiser to do as her cell signature would surely be picked up and she'd found, termination to surely follow. Her brows creased heavily upon catching a glimpse of the Jet hovering, then falling into the canyon way.

Stopping, she cut the engine, hearing that distinct sound…

_Churr-err-err-ah-eh…_

"Here we go…" She grabbed her phone upon exiting the vehicle, the least she could do was take pictures of the Transformer if she could.

The ground quaked as she neared the drop off, instantly grounding herself behind the nearest rise in the gravel. Try as she might, attempting to slow her breathing was near impossible, and her pulse thundering in her ears wasn't helping. Blowing the pesky strands of her red hair from her face, she couldn't help but feel a sense of morbid adrenaline. She hadn't felt this kind of action for what seemed like eons. It reminded her of the darker days, yet something that gave her a taste of adventure and danger, no matter how grave the situation. Usually, she was the one scolding the boys for this behavior and their lack of value on the word "Safety". Time having taught her that she couldn't hide behind glass and walls all her life, right now, she felt needed more than a burden. Surely she'd have been scold for this if Optimus was here, no matter her matured physic he was always there to look out for everyone. Sometimes much like a father figure to the children, whether he was aware of it or not. With the memory of his warm demeanor giving her newfound courage, her eyes crept over the rocky barrier to glimpse the Transformer. He wasn't facing her, rather, he was staring at the ground with his back to her. Ill expression on the softer parts of metal on his face, which was elongated. As he turned his head she noticed vents, almost like sideburns, poked out from beneath his facial plating. Upon his forehead was a slim red horn. Streaks of dark peered out from the lighter silver plating on his head, angling to the back of his dome with an aerodynamic design. Rather than open optics with visible equipment, his eyes were two dark screens, red blaring irises projected onto them. His neck was rather long, thin, the piling cables and wiring disappearing into a barrel of a chest which made up nearly a third of his body. Most of his shoulder lay hidden beneath two dull blue-gray guards, where thin arms appeared below. Under each forearm sat red rockets, highly potent Alexis assured.

His middle was rather abnormally thin for something of his statue, with small hips to boot. A double set of wings occasional flicked on his back, reminding her of a Dragonfly. His comical build continued downward to his legs, where she couldn't help but double take at his feet.

_He cannot be wearing HEELS._ She nearly snorted a laugh, obviously still tired and delirious from the travel. It was then she glanced down to a faint vibration from her chest, inhaling sharply when she discovered it was her necklace. Glowing dimly, rattling as if it wanted to get away, it died soon after. She lifted her head to watch the Transformer meander into the ravine further, following silently, mouth agape subtly. There was no way in hell it could have been him. Countless times Rad mentioned seeing a Decepticon that sounded, acted, and looked like Starscream. If this was him, rebuilt, it fit his occasionally slimy attitude. If she confronted him, what were the chances he'd remember her? That is, if such a chance for it to be him existed. He was… Demolished, by Unicron so many years ago. She felt her chest ache at the sharp stab of the memory.

Snapping a shot of his back as she went, she dropped down when he stopped abruptly, afraid she'd been heard. Much to her relief, he remained oblivious to her presence. Instead, she listened in as he opened a communications line to…

"Soundwave," He began. "Send down an excavating crew immediately. I've found yet another deposit of pure energon…" He had a smile in that gravelly voice. "A rather large one at that… Make it quick. I want this on board before those Autobots pick up our activity!"

She watched as he cut the line, his gaze scanning the landscape for what she assumed to be more energon.

"Megatron may live on dark energon, but unfortunately… Not all of us can be _oh _so lucky to have such conveniences." He crouched to scratched at the wall face, examing the dust on his claws.

Again, Alexis captured a picture, resting her phone against the ground and leaning around the wall where she'd settled. Swallowing her nausea, she brought her hand to her mouth. "Starscream!"

"GYAGH!"

She watched as he nearly scurried up the side of the canyon like a frightened cat, freezing when it registered that the voice was organic in nature, and initiated no real threat. He whirled around just as she ducked away out of sight to keep from getting shot, heaving furiously for being made a fool and startled so.

"Who called my name! Come out fleshling, I know Human voices when I hear them…" His voice dropped into a rolling, grinding, trill of displeasure. Optics instantly zeroing on Alexis when she finally stepped from cover with a defiant posture. He tilted his head slightly as it dropped down below his hunched shoulders. "Well now…. What this nonsense?"

"Don't even talk to me that way, you…." She snapped back sternly. His brows raised, blinking with no real response to her tone.

"And who…" He snarled upon approaching the Cliffside with fisted hands. "Might you be, dear…?"

Alexis crossed her eyes, glaring still even as his shadow fell over her. "All these years… You're still up to selfish trouble…" Her shoulders fell gradually, and her voice grew soft. "Would you even remember me if I told you my name?"

He leaned down to her, growling from the corner of his mouth.

"How on earth did they manage to rebuild you, after you died to Unicron…?"

"How…" He reeled back, a small flash of fear on his face. "Who- How did you know about that?"

"Starscream… Do you recall three kids who followed you everwhere? Human children…"

He eyed her warily, still stunned by the fact she was aware of his death. True it be, that he was subsequently destroyed when Unicron obliterated his body… He never did see if his attempted attack made contact with the beast. The blast site searched, a scout brought forward a dormant portion of his spark, fragments of brain…. Ultimately they crafted him a new body, sleeker, less bulky, crafty, sturdy… Everything he was as Starscream. From time to time, he would get images from his recharge bed. Flashes of three Humans, one female in particular. Yet her face always seemed to be dark. He could hear her, just not see her. Numerous times did he try to give her a name, hoping it would reveal her more to him and why she was such a pest to his systems. "…. Not really."

That hurt. She sighed deeply, tucking back her hair to shorten it's appearance, licking her lip as she flicked her eyes up at him with a sad expression. "You still can't remember me?"

"… No. Ergh! Get to the point you little filth!" He snipped.

"Seems you really don't remember me then do you?" She sounded genuinely sad, which confused him more than the whole fiasco underway here. "I was with you, during Unicron's assault… We were inside him, remember? I dropped my necklace, and I went to get it…. I caused you more trouble than I was worth…"

His mouth shrugged downward as he listened, all the while trying to match audio snippets to his logs. "…"

"You had your little Mini-Con, Swindle! And Sureshock was with us! I asked you to stay with us, Starscream! Why didn't you?"

He lifted his head when a notification sounded that the troops Soundwave ordered out were inbound. "… I know you. You plague my dreams…"

"…?" She lifted her necklace for him to see. "You gave this to me Starscream, you brought it back as a gift for us… Me, Rad, Carlos, the idiots Billy and Fred! I made mine into a necklace, even Rad kept his piece."

"Alexis…"

"Yeah?" She stepped forward with a familiar hope in her eyes that made the mech shudder. The sudden gunfire around her caused her to fall back, screaming as dust stirred around her and superheated projectiles disrupted the ground around her, pelting her with debris. All around her it grew dark and the sound of bullets pinging off metal caught her attention. She peeked through her fingers to see that Starscream had covered her with his hand.

His voice was strained as he regarded the fighters. "Gargh! Stop firing you _idiots!_ Isn't it obvious this Human has some kind of importance if I've not killed her yet myself! Primus!"

She didn't struggle as he suddenly grabbed her in his needle-like claws. Almost instinctually, she wrapped herself around his fingers, peering up at him when he held her below eye level. "Duly noted, we must take this conversation further." He lifted his head as the working-class bots landed around him, all awaiting their orders. "Get to work mining this rock base! I want it cleaned out as soon as possible."

"Sir, the Human?" A warrior-class, possibly the one responsible for nearly killing Alexis, pointed at her. To which she responded by sticking her tongue out at him and blowing a raspberry.

"She, is with me. I'm afraid we've some unresolved matters to discuss." He bounced his hand to hint her not to push it, she responded by giving him a strict glare. A look that sealed it for him. _Alexis… You've grown…_ He hissed in his mind, deciding to walk instead of fly, towards the ship's lift.

"Do you recall anything I've said?" She mumbled up at him.

"I remember you…" He finally confirmed, optics giving her a much calmer vibe than before. "How did you find me?"

"Actually… I wasn't looking for you. I was just out for a drive to see the Autobots, but they've long gone. I heard you fly by, and decided to follow to see if it was anything serious…." She bit her lower lip and averted her eyes. "I thought you were gone for good… My… Necklace cracked when it happened. And Optimus, confirmed it." She found her eyes growing hot, blinking rapidly.

"They salvaged parts of me, though my body was entirely devastated from the blast." He said quietly, glancing up at the streaks left by the fighters, cupping her in both hands. He raised a brow down at her. "'Anything serious'? What do you take the Decepticons for exactly, Alexis?"

"Morons." She shrugged, ignoring the thundering in her chest as her temper flared at the memories of the Decepticons ravaging everything on Earth.

"I see… I suppose I'm among the 'morons' then?" He inquired shrewdly.

"Don't start Starscream." She gave him one of her motherly looks, one he admired. She was never one to be stupidly immature about something, nor unreasonable. That was one trait that he found so appealing about her. Her maturity. "You may not like to admit it, but you-" She paused as the loud rumble of a ship approached her ears and looking back at the massive ship that cast a dark anomaly over the flats.

"As you were saying~?" He pressed deviously, raising her to meet his gaze.

She decided to ignore his persistence. "Who's ship is that?"

"Megatron's…. Or more appropriately, _was._ He hasn't been seen for days now…." An obvious lie. There was no telling when Megatron would be back from his quest for dark energon. Nearly half the ship's occupants had gone to an established excavation site. "As Second in Command, I'm ultimately left to care for the ship and her quarry… If he does not return soon, it's mine." His mouth curved into a slanted grin.

"I see…" Alexis said quietly, all the while wondering if Optimus was aware of this. After all this time, he still lusted for control. _Still the same as ever…_ "Something's missing…"

"Oh?"

"Where is… Everybody?" She looked up at him with green eyes wide.

"Who is everybody?" He mused.

"That Whirly Bird, Cyclonus. Demolisher… Where did they all go?"

"Oh my…" He began with a grind. "That idiot Cyclonus returned to Cybertron to oversee a few… Plans, and Demolisher was sent with him. Thrust and Sideways are both dead… That little cone-headed pipsqueak!"

"Hey easy." She piped up with a nervous laugh. "Don't squish me thinking about him…" She rested a hand on his finger once she noticed his joints rattling.

"Sorry." He heaved a semi-dramatic sigh. "Nothing much else has happened, Soundwave still remains, and our current medic is KnockOut. Needless to say, we do have a few unwanted occupants in our ranks, alas, nothing I can do to remove them until Megatron dies…"

"You want him dead don't you?" She asked upon stroking his thumb a manner than he couldn't help but to relax under. Secretively, the action got to him. He never relaxed in the presence of a fleshling. She still had the same stress-reducing effects, yet they induced a whole different kind of trouble for him.

"With utmost hasten." He answered in a tone with spat particular bile.

"Screamer…" There was that nickname again. "Why… Didn't you join the Autobots when you had the chance?"

"…" He stopped, blinking down at her with a distasteful expression at the subject.

"With the Autobots, you would've been treated with care and respect. Everybody would've loved to have you if you didn't try to betray us… Optimus knew you had potential, you still do. You know that right?"

"Really, Alexis. And how long would I have remained the underling even on their side?" Starscream asked with a snark.

"… You can always go solo. Be who you want to be. Just because you'd be ranked below Optimus, doesn't mean anything. He treats all of the Autobots like superiors. He gives respect, provides reason and praise… Even when things go wrong."

"I don't want to hear it, Alexis." He said in a hushed tone, his temper brooding. The last thing he wanted to do was yell at her after this long.

Those affections had already made themselves apparent? Oh Heavens, why did she find him now? Why couldn't she have stayed out of his life like she had for all this time? Under normal circumstances he wouldn't have cared if he frightened a Human. In fact, he enjoyed it.

"But Starscream-"

"I said enough!" He caused her to jump, catching himself too late. "I already tried. If I didn't join the first time, the likelihood that I'll attempt to integrate myself with the Goody-two-shoes Group again is slim-to-none. Are we clear?" He hated watching her face drop despite the understanding nod she managed. "Now, why cause a debate when it's so truly unneeded. We should endeavor to make light of situation, since it's so pleasant to see you."

"Are you even really happy to see me?" She asked him bluntly, sitting back in his palm and closing her legs off to the side. He nearly tripped at the question.

"H-happy?" Truth be told, he was delighted to find her alive, to hear her again, and to finally put the pieces of his recurring memories together. As dually aggravating as it was. "I am pleased to see you're alive and well, Alexis. To be honest. Though given the current situation, I would say this rather bad timing to reunite."

She couldn't but smile. "Yeah, I suppose…" She quieted once he stepped onto the platform that ferried supplies into the very depths of the sinister-looking ship. "Don't you think it's a bad idea to take me in there?"

"No one will touch you so long as your with me." He stated with confidence once the platform began rising at a sickening speed, making Alexis hunker in his hand to keep from getting dizzy, she gripped his fingers tightly.

"I don't think Soundwave will be happy to see me. That is if he remembers." She said quietly.

"Oh assure you. He will."


	2. Proper Nice

Below them, the light from outside faded with the door, sealing in the lift with a hollow clang. Alexis had huddled close to his left thumb as he stepped off into the cargo bay, workers around him compiling mounds of the bright blue substance that came up with them. Her mouth shrugged with a stitch in her confidence when a few of the workers cast glances at her as they passed, disapproving glares from between the optical slates on their faces boring into her very soul. Their rumbling grunts making her heart race. The interior of the ship was nothing of her tastes, it's dark combination of blues and purples making her head swim the more she tried to focus. Shielding herself against Starscream's hand did little to comfort her until her vision darkened, realizing soon after that he'd formed a cage with his fingers around her to hide her from view of the others. It seemed to be a direct walk to the Command Center, and once the doors hissed open she peered up at him in question, yet his gaze remained forward.

"Ah, Commander Starscream." Said an unknown bot with a campy voice, it's rich tone defining his gender. "Back so soon? I thought you were going to remain on the ground…?" She couldn't see where the voice was coming from.

"I changed my mind. Send Breakdown groundside for now."

"And what, may I enquire, is in your servos Commander?"

That was when his palm lifted, allowing Alexis room to sit up. She glanced about and froze at the bald white face now staring back down at her, his brow raised in interest before he smiled cruelly. He was obviously one to take vehicle form, his white face partially overshadowed by a red tri-point crest and thick sloping 'sideburns'. Two thin spikes of white that could have passed as 'Elf-Ears' speared from the back of the red plating. A small red kick on his chin appeared to help hold his soft facial plating together. "A pet Human, Commander? Why thank you~"

Starscream growled. "She's not for you, Knock Out. This is Alexis Ti Dang, she and I…. Go back." The Jet sighed nearing the ending his sentence.

His smile faded into a much more curious expression and neared the two in only a few short steps. Alexis, not feeling a truly threatening vibe of the Decepticon, could have been her slightly naïve mood, stood to meet him. She gave him an honest smile that startled the Transformers both. "Hiya."

"Er… Yes." Knock Out's mouth twisted into a confused shrug. "Oddly comfortable, isn't she?" He switched his gaze to his commanding officer. Alexis cut in before he could answer.

"I've been around you guys since I was 11. Take away a couple years since I've seen one, but yeah…. It's still ingrained as an everyday thing, I haven't lost my fascination yet though. Hmhm!"

"Hrnn…. Interesting." The red Decepticon muttered, feigning disinterest as he backed away to inspect the machinery in his hand which appeared to be an application of some sort.

"Could I ask your name?" She persisted in that sickly sweet tone, making Knock Out frown at the woman.

"Knock Out."

"Nice to meet you then." She folded her arms in front of her, careful to balance herself in the light bobbing of Starscream's hand.

"Missy, do you have an clue that you're talking to a Decepticon? I could kill you if I wanted to." He raised a brow, amusing Starscream slightly.

"Yes I do. Doesn't mean much to me though, I would think at least you could execute some decent manners when it comes to greeting somebody." Just as Knock Out was about to reply, the heavy thumping of metal on metal caught the attention of all three.

From behind, a larger blue robot had approached, staring down at Alexis with a single optic of hate. "Gotta big mouth for such a little meatball doesn't she?" He grunted, smirking down at her dangerously. His expression soon turned to surprise when Starscream moved his hand away from him.

"That's Alexis to you, not Meatball, Metalhead." She retorted. "You got alotta nerve. Does nobody around here know how to introduce themselves decently?"

Starscream scoffed, quieting her. "Alexis, that'll be all. Now then, Breakdown-"

"Who are you callin' a Metalhead you little boob!" Breakdown continued, towering over her even in Starscream's hand, causing the thinner Transformer to step back once out of automatic protectiveness.

"I called _you_ a Metalhead, that's who! You have some way about you, picking on girls you towering metal Tonka toy!" She shouted back, damn near ready to climb over Starscream's pointed claws, making the Decepticon reel back and Starscream growl.

"Alexis!" He snapped, bobbing his hand to make her fall back in his hand.

She jumped at his tone and granted submission even as she looked to him angrily then back at Breakdown. "Jeez. What did Humans ever do to you to get that kind of treatment?"

"Rrgh!" It had escalated to the point where Breakdown's arms rattled, so badly wanting to squash her. Knock Out seemed entirely amused by the exchange until Starscream turned to him and held out the Human, who also looked confused.

"Enough! Knock Out, take her out of her before I end up getting the bad end of this." He passed her into the seemingly over-eager palm of the medic. His brows vanished beneath the red spiked cap on his head.

"What?" Cried Knock Out.

"You can't just dump me on him!" She called back, astounded he would just hand her off to some stranger like this.

"For once I agree with a Human!" The red medic sport's car whined.

"Oh don't worry, Alexis. He knows now that I'll offline him… _If I find so much as a scratch on her._" He hissed into the face of medical bot darkly, the wings on his back flaring with his words.

"U-uh…. Yes, Commander." He groaned down at his unwanted care, near-moping out of the bay with her and returning to his post to repair the crushed cannon.

"I'll be there within the next five minutes, Alexis. Stay out of trouble!" Starscream called just before the doors hissed shut behind them.

"What makes you think I want to get into it?" She uttered, now suddenly tired and flopping down in the Decepticon's hand. "Sorry, Knock Out."

"Uh, for what?" He asked plainly, glancing down to her as he navigated the hall that seemed empty for the most part.

"For having to have you baby-sit me like this. Starscream's never just dumped up on to some stranger like that before, especially after I first meet them. And _definitely_ not into the hands of a Decepticon. Back then, I wouldn't leave his sight during battle, and he got so angry if I put myself in danger… Seems funny now that I think about it. I was always nagging my friends to stay safe and yet I did some pretty idiotic things myself as a girl."

"Well… We all do that from time to time I guess…." Knock Out said in a jaded tone, jabbing at the keypad in front of him to access a more secluded portion of the ship.

"Don't worry about me getting the way of your work. I usually sit where I'm told." She chuckled humorlessly, rubbing her forehead with a cool palm. She suddenly felt feverish.

"If you say so." He said, blasé. A cool blast of air met her hot skin once he entered the med-bay, nearly dropping her on the nearest counter across from a series of operating tools that made her swallow, hard.

"Those look… Impressive." She commented quietly, making him smirk.

"Oh yes, they're _very_ painful if proper use isn't demonstrated."

"I'm sure… I doubt you've done that before though."

"Oh…." He motioned with the wave of his hand as he spoke. "Hardly."

"That's good to know…" She tried to sound decent, needless to say she was scared shitless of the sharp objects with knowing that at any point they could cut her in two, that is, if he decided to attack her. "Does your work get appreciated?"

"Sometimes I wonder if it does. Without me, those fools would be falling apart at the bolts." He said upon dipping the mechanical part into what seemed to be an acid bath, glancing back at her to make sure she hadn't run for it. She only shrugged a forced smile off her lips.

"I guess medics need to be appreciated more…" She sighed, thinking back on Red Alert and wondering how he was fairing.

"You know it, fleshling."

"Alexis."

"Uh, Alexis."

"Thank you, sir~" She said in a sing-song tone, rolling her eyes at his refusal to address her by her name.

"That's the first time a Human's called me 'sir.'" He looked at her in the process of wiping his hands of the slick green fluid, obviously amused. "Seems like you know where to slap on respect."

"Well, I can demonstrate some kind of veneration, even though _some don't deserve it."_ She cocked a brow at him with a hint in her voice.

"Only doing my job." He replied slyly, giving her a curved grin.

_What a smart ass… _"Right…" She sighed, resting her chin atop her knees. She flicked her eyes about the room, looking over to him, finding herself staring at his back while he worked on something unseen. "You take really good care of yourself."

"What?" He stopped, steely orange optics peering at her from over his shoulder for a brief moment.

"Your paint job, it's a pretty shade of red. Seems like you take good care of your finish…"

"Of course. So far there's not a vehicle that's crossed my path with better work yet, it'll surely never happen." He said arrogantly.

That made her smile as his posture changed, becoming more open to her from the praise. "I'm sure… I wish I could take as good a care of my vehicle. I do what I can."

"What is it you drive?" He asked, now somewhat relaxed by her being there.

"It's an oldie that's been in the family, I don't drive it all the time. A cherry and black Ford Fleetline."

"Mmm…. Year?"

"1948." She shrugged.

"Lovely." He said quietly, now very much focused on his work and hunched over the lump of machinery. She decided she best keep quiet, not wanting to become unpleasant to the Decepticon.

Much to her relief, she didn't have to wait much longer for Starscream to arrive, inspecting the bay with bugged optics as if he'd find her everywhere. Esh, that thought made her cringe.

"Behaving?" He regarded her sourly, still edgy about her yelling at Breakdown.

"Since when do I misbehave? I wasn't the one that started it." She frowned at him.

"Back there you did." He said huskily as he leaned over her, forcing her to lay flat on the counter. She stared up at him defiantly even with the flush of her cheeks, being in such close proximity to him. Being in his hand was one thing, it was another to have his face over her. His frown was begin to appeal to her in a comical way.

Knock Out turned to them, brow raised as he lowered his tools. "Really Commander, this isn't an appropriate place for your liaisons with the fle… Alexis. Perhaps your quarters are a better retreat?"

The seeker hissed at him. "Nrrhhh!"

"Uh, 'Screamer, please." Alexis spoke up in a wavering tone, attempting to hide a smile after actually finding the red mech's comment funny, drawing his attention away from the shrunken-back Decepticon who still carried a wary smile. "Knock Out's actually been very patient with me, I'm grateful for it. The least you can do is thank him for watching me."

Starscream shuddered with irritation, gathering her into his palm in a near-swiping motion. "Fine…" He straightened and addressed the other mech, who's optics were locked onto Alexis, his smile gone. Most likely for what she said, unsure of what to make of it. Alexis was one of the few that saw Transformers as more than machines with sentient minds. "Thank you," He attempted to hide the hitch in his voice. "For watching her, Knock Out."

"Erh…" Knock Out fell quiet as the door hissed closed upon their exit.

"So…. Is that jerk gone?" She asked, monotone.

"Yes Alexis, he's gone." Starscream sighed with the roll of his optics, once out of the med bay he then headed straight for the bridge once more. "However, Soundwave is now present, so if you don't want to risk an ugly welcome, I can always leave you with Knock Out again."

"No," She replied almost instantly. "Not that I didn't mind him, it's just I'm not scared of Soundwave. You know I never was."

"Back when you two butted heads, I remember when you used that dozer to crack his faceplate with a boulder. He still remembers that." He flicked his boiling red optics in her direction as the door opened, allowing her see that the large and highly dangerous Decepticon was indeed there. With his back to them and typing ruthlessly away on a singular panel.

"Well then, that's his problem." She sniffed. "I got over the fact he lashed my back didn't I? I can't even wear a backless dress now because of the scarring." She spun in his hand, watching the purplish robot work away.

"Have you?" He questioned with the suspicious tone.

"Yes." She replied, looking up at him with a Don't Even expression. He chuckled quietly. Very much the same as he remembered her, her personality more robust now that she was a grown woman, something he had to constantly remind himself.

"Soundwave," Starscream began, unsurprised that he didn't bother to address him fully. "Any indication from Megatron yet?"

The faceless Decepticon turned, tucking his meticulous fingers against his upper abdomen, reminding Alexis of a raptor vaguely. He shook his head at him, then she recognized the action of a double-take, she could feel his optics burning right through her as he rotated the rest of his body to face her fully. Frozen.

"You remember Alexis?" Starscream held her higher with a start of dark humor. "She smashed your faceplate~?"

"…"

Alexis sighed, closed her eyes, and raised a brow slowly. Causing the large creature to tilt his head at her. She opened her eyes, peering up at him with her head cocked. His chest was swelling, obviously pissed to see her again.

"_Well I'll be a darn-tootin',"_ A recording of an old man with a western accent emitted from his speakers. _"If it isn't my favorite soccer ball."_ Said the voice of another male, a younger boy from the sound of it. Obvious snippets from TV shows. He leaned down at her quickly to purposefully startle her with the abrupt movement. _"You… Got some nerve showin' up around here,"_ The audio clip cut, then flicked to another. _"Damn woman!"_

Some part of her wanted to hide behind Starscream, knowing full well that he could quickly snatch her away from him and shred her like wet paper. "That was eons ago. The scar from when you hit my back is still there, it's ruined my skin for the rest of my life. Karma got the best of both of us if I may say. You might not, but at least I'm going to say I'm sorry for busting your face, Soundwave. I was only doing what I had to in order to protect my friends. You'd do the same for your friends, wouldn't you?"

She felt her shoulders sag in reprieve when he only shook his head in an evident sigh and turned back to his work. _"Whatevah."_ Came a New-Yorker's accent from nowhere.

"My, that's a shocker. Even for me. I honestly thought he was going to rip you apart~" Said Starscream with a wiseacre tone.

"Oh shush." She scoffed at him, observing him over her shoulder. "So? Come on, show me around this place if you can!" She sounded 13 again, eyes bright and body language eager, it made Starscream's spark flicker.

"There's not much to see…" He said inquisitively. "Where do you want to go?"

"Well if there's nothing, there's always outside. Maybe…. You can take me for a fly?"

"What?" He snorted. "Do I look like a plaything to you?"

"_Take me for a fly?"_ Repeated Soundwave, his head angled at Alexis. It was obvious he didn't want her near him.

_Oh! So childish!_ She thought with a frown. "God. You and Carmina would be a couple made in heaven." She countered softly. Then again, she couldn't blame him, she did, after all, ruin his complexion for good.

"Hmph, very well." Starscream spun on his heel, Alexis losing her balance in the process.

"Wah!"

"Sorry, Alexis."

**TRANSFORMERS**

Not much had happened out of the ordinary for Jack, he rested against the back of a generator, glaring tediously at the hat he had to wear for his job. He felt like the Wiska-Lickin's cat. He didn't want to feel like a cat food mascot. Hardly anyone arrived at the Drive-Thru for nearly an hour, it had been like that all day. He needed to speak to his manager about his time schedule… He then perked to the sound of a motorcycle, stepping up to the mic as a chime sounded, notifying him that someone had pulled up. "Hello, welcome to-"

"It's me Jack." Came Arcee's voice.

"Eh! Arcee, what-" He cut his loudness before his associates noticed. "What is it?" He asked more hushed.

"You're off at 6:00 right?"

"Yeah, why?" He smiled nervous at Marvin who looked up at him from the grilling station.

"For once, you're actually needed at the base. We can't trust Miko and Raf for this situation." He could hear her engine revving. "We've got new arrivals from statewide, but we need someone we know is mature enough to watch the base."

Jack glanced up at the clock. Three minutes till he could sign out for the day. "Can you wait? I don't want to sign out before my shift is over. Three minutes Acree, three."

"Alright." She then whizzed by him at the window, causing him to jump.

"Oi…" He shook his head, sighing. Though he was happy to hear that they'd be making new friends and most importantly, getting more back-up.

"Jaaackie~" Marvin started with a slap to his back, making him cough. "Whoop, sorry about that! Was that your girlfriend~?"

"Neh-ehheh, no. She's uh… My cousin. Planned to go for a ride today after I got off work. She's been worked up about it all day." He smiled nervously back at the taller boy, his body mass shrinking in response.

"I see. Where she come from? She hot?" The dorky older boy grinned.

"Atlanta, Georgia. And uh, depends on who's looking… I guess. She's…. Quite beautiful, to be honest. Ehehe."

"Georgia peach eh? Nice~ Tell to come in sometime, I gotta meet her. If that's okay with you." His tone seem almost threatening, he was, after-all, a bully at school.

"Yeah, sure… She's only staying for so long, so we'll see if I get her to clear up some time."

"That's what I like to hear!" He gave another rough pat to the boy's back, watching as he wormed away from him with unrelenting grin.

"6 o'clock, gotta run!" Jack said hurriedly, fleeing the back portion of the burger joint.

Upon exiting, he found Arcee still in the nearest parking space, her holodrone Sadie present.

"Couldn't have called my phone or something? Wait, don't answer that, just have the same outcome. Couldn't you have just waited?" Jack muttered as he hopped off the sidewalk and into the parking lot. "Sadie" approached, the holodrone's head turning to 'look' at him.

"What's the big deal?" She questioned.

"You've unofficially, made a boyfriend."

"Oh?" Acree's tone gave Jack the impression that she'd have her upper lip curled in distaste. "Did you tell him I was taken?"

"Yeah… Not really." He rubbed the back of his neck.

"Jack!" She sounded flummoxed.

"Look Arcee, I'm sorry! But you try being my size next to that behemoth with ten-pound fists. I don't feel like losing my head. He asked if I you were my girlfriend, I… got a little embarrassed and didn't think all that clear about what I said."

"Nice going, Romeo."

He chuckled tiredly, walking with her down the street after noticing Marvin staring from the windows inside, ducking into the nearest ally way. "So, who's the loser?"

"Marvin." He said, slipping on his helmet. "Congrats."

"Well, tell _Marvin_, that I'm too busy. And that I'm unavailable." She stretched his name to make her apathy clear.

"Not that easy, but I'll try."

"How is it not easy?" She stopped to allow him to seat himself once they were half way through the ally.

"He's a school bully. He hasn't knocked me for a loop yet, but I can assure you, he will if he doesn't get a positive response tomorrow." He gripped the handlebars, shaking his head.

"Well, just tell him in front of a bunch of adults. I don't think he'll smack you down then. If he does, let me know." He felt her lurch under him as she gained speed to move out onto the main roadway.

"Yeah but it's not like you can show yourself if he decides to make me a pavement pancake, Arcee. He'll freak, tell everyone… You'll get in trouble with Optimus, not a good deal."

She fell silent for a moment then a smile in her voice. "I'll think of something. Right now, lets get worry about getting to base, it's going to rain in a few hours. Badly."

"Great." Jack's shoulder slouched, leaning forward as she raced for the outer city limits.

Only a few times did Arcee dart over the speed limit, rearing here and there in an attempt to raise his spirits. It had worked and by the time she hauled him for the hidden base entry, he was grinning foolishly. From the raised voices, he could tell that they had a few new guests. Arcee stopped just before the main room, allow him to get off and approach the jungle of vehicles. He raised his brows at the assortment of vehicles. To the right, nearest to the computers sat a vibrant green and black Bugatti Veyron, and next to it a fire red Dodge Viper. Their wheels turned in his direction, conversation brought to an abrupt halt as they noticed him. To his left sat three more vehicles. An eye catching pink and black Semi that was more rounded than Optimus was, and it had a light rose colored dove painted on it's hood.

_Obviously a girl…_ He smiled at the vehicle when he noticed it roll forward in his direction. The others beside her on the left rested a car that he'd never seen before. It was sinister-looking, obviously a classic car of some sort, and didn't regard him much. The last was a blue Cadillac, sharp, angular, very eye-catching.

"Hey Jack!" Came Miko's voice from above on the catwalk. He glanced up to find her and Raf were settled into the small lounge the Autobots set up for them. "Whatcha think of the new recruits!" She said cheerily, obviously excited to have more giant robots to take pictures of.

"I haven't met 'em yet!" He then turned his attention to the sound of the Kenworth approaching. "Hi everyone, I'm Jack. Pretty much the last Human besides Fowler you're going to meet inside the base. Oh, and my mom."

"Hello dear." Greeted the Kenworth in a tone that caught Jack entirely off guard, she sounded as if she were from the UK. "My name is Jakknife, but you can call me Dove." The Bugatti erratically shuffled around her, nearly hitting Jack's legs out from under him. "Wavebuster!" The Semi scolded.

"Sorry." He backed away, despite Jack's nervous laugh. "I'm Wavebuster kid. Behind me there is Rolltide." He angled his mirror in the direction of the red predatory sport's car.

"Evenin'." The vehicle said briskly.

"Takes some time to warm up to you. Dun ya worry, he's a nice guy." Said the spastic luxury vehicle.

"I'm sure."

"The quiet ones over by the ground bridge gate are Coldwave, and Dredge." Jakknife nearly cooed. "I'm afraid those two aren't very talkative, especiall'eh Coldwave. She's not too kind. Dun you worry your little head however. She's not harmed a Human ever."

"Cool deal… She's welcome to meet me when she's ready." Jack smiled at the warm tone of the Transformer, she was obviously just a girly thing with an 'Everybody's Mom' personality.

"Careful, she may et' ya." Rolltide commented, causing Wavebuster to snicker and Jakknife to sigh.

"Heheh, uh, why aren't you all out of your vehicle forms?" Jack shifted his weight.

"We simply can't fit, love." Jakknife answered. "Tah many of us I'm afraid. With more on the way. Don't want to risk you gett'n' underfoot."

"Looks like the base needs to undergo some adjustments huh?" He said with a grin, glancing back as Arcee rumbled up behind him.

"Optimus is on his way, ETA 1 hour. He the others scouted a successful source of energon, especially since these guys," She gestured with her handlebars to the other various vehicles. "Need it. They had to travel here without the ground bridge."

"Long travels then." Jack turned to look back at them with a raised brow.

Wavebuster chuckled. "You bet, kid. Mommazilla here almost sputtered out on the highway five minutes from the base."

Jakknife hissed at the title. "My engine slipped you crude brat. That'll be enough from you."

Miko laughed from somewhere above, trotting down the stairs and over to Wavebuster. "How fast can you go?" She stood before him, resting her hands on his hood, a smirk on her face.

"As fast you need me to, girly. Wanna go for a spin until Bulkhead gets back?" His door slowly drifted aloft with a sound that reminded Jack of a depressurizing airlock or something from a movie, exposing the glowing black and silver interior.

She squirmed where she stood. "You mean it?"

"Sure thing. Just be sure to buckle up. I want ya back in one piece on the way home! Or I'm spare parts with Bulkhead."

"Sweet!" Without hesitation, she clambered into his seat, looking about in wonder with a series of hyper giggles, being cut short when his door hissed shut. The semi moved aside to allow him around Jack, heading for the winding hall out of the base, blaring heavy metal by the time they disappeared around the bend.

"Are you sure that's okay?" Raf mumbled worriedly from the stairwell, being mindful of his size and suddenly looking lonely without his Autobot friend there.

"Oyeh, dun ya worry now. Wavebuster may act like 'an idiot, but he knows wut he's doin'." Spoke up Rolltide. "Guarantee if Liana was here, she'd be cuttin' him a new gas pipe about it too. Hopefully e'll get back before Optimus does, or he's in for trouble."

"Who's Liana?" Jack questioned, walking back up the stairs with Raf to set his helmet down finally.

"She is Wavebuster's Human family member." Answered Dredge, surprising everyone. His voice was just as creepy as his appearance. "….What?"

"Oh, so there's more Humans than us that know about you guys?" Raf asked from over the couch with a smile.

"Yup!" Rolltide chimed. "I've got me a family as well, back in New Zealand."

"Hence the accent." Jack piped, resting on the edge of the cushion.

"Aye."

"What about you Dredge? You have a family too?" Came Raf again, his 12 year old curiosity coming through.

It was a while before creepy Autobot replied. "Uh-huh. Used to. I've been on Earth long before you guys were even born. My family… A farmer named Arthur Fresley, died back in 1936. I was a family member to nearly 50 families from then on in, none of 'em treated me as well as that old man did. Then, when this vehicle came out I took on a new design."

"Well, it's suits you." Jack shrugged.

"Thanks."

"Just what kind of car is that anyway?" He then questioned.

"It's a Phantom Corsair. Only one of these in the world besides me. Made in 1938. They were going produce these in mass, but the plans were halted for good after the death of the creator."

Everybody seemed startled as the familiar chime of an incoming message sounded on the control board.


	3. Lost!

Arcee was the first to respond. Instantly shifting into her towering humanoid form within a few loud clangs. Jack was immediately behind her, concern in his features. "That's gotta be them." He said softly.

"Le's hope it's nothin' ser'us nuh." Rolltide grunted, turning into his alt-form as well to join her.

"Woah," Came Raf, causing Jack to look up at the Transformers as well. He too was surprised with Rolltide's appearance. Entirely nothing that he could have imagined. He was very serpentine in appearance, minus the tail. He was hunched, with two long and thin plated blades swinging slightly from either side of his lower jaw. Angular steely eyes burned with a determined blue just has the rest of his kindred, and a segmented neck that was attached to a rounded upper torso. His back, more appropriately his 'spine' was lined with about a dozen spikes like Jack had seen on a Dragon in a fantasy book, each differing in size till they shrank out of existence on his lower back.

"Miko would have a hey-day with you! Ironically you look like Godzilla." Raf chuckled, smiling wider when Rolltide angled his elongated head to look at him.

"Godzilla? Idn't 'e that dinosa' creature from some corny old moveh?" The mech cocked his head.

"Yeah!"

"Oh at's nice of you." Rolltide smirked at the still smiling boy, turning back to the monitor as shrouded face appeared on screen, his audio stream next to it.

"_Figure to base!"_

"We read you bud!" Rolltide began, his grin falling as he became serious from the tone in Figure's voice, he was straining for some reason.

"_Bumble Bee and I have found the remaining Autobots, however so have the Decepticons, four are badly wounded. We are being pursued just outside the Jasper cityline by a group of Decepticon drones, too many for us to handle! They got air units! We need-WOAH!" _ The sound of skidding tires on the freeway cause everyone to bunch. _"Need help out here!"_

"You got it Figure, we're on our way!" Shouted Arcee, now tense.

"_Thanks!"_ The young male voice shouted, cutting out before Arcee could close her end of the channel. She spun to Jack who was already in the motion of nodding. He was used to it by now, yet she still had a habit of ensuring he got the point.

"We'll be back. Hang tight. Dove, Dredge, Coldwave, let's go. Rolltide, stay with the kids." Her words were partially inaudible with the loud banging sounds of her form processing into a crotch-rocket.

"You got 'et young lady." Rolltide affirmed, standing close to the children on the stairwell as others hadn't bothered to change, following Arcee for the base door closely. Dove was the last to leave, having just been hit by something.

"Rolltide?" She asked in a nervous tone.

"Aye, Dove?"

"Wavebuster, Miko. They're still about, contact them, get them home!" She called as she began to screech her tires to catch up with the others.

"Yes ma'am!" He cried over the resounded screams of rubber on metal, glancing to the children who had their ears covered and gave them a smile. "It'll be alright boys. Dun worreh."

"_Optimus?"_ The worry in Figure's voice caused the large Autobot leader to slow on the gas slightly.

"Figure, what is it?" He addressed him in his usual quiet tone, this time laced with concern at the distress in his voice.

"_You got Bulkhead and Rachet with you? We're gonna need all the help we can get! Decepticons on our tail man! A couple of us have been injured, this- Massive thing! It's been chuckin' chunks of ground at us! Did I mention the shooting? WAH!"_ The sound of gunfire in the background made the final Prime grunt lowly.

"Seems like we aren't the only ones to get reinforcements…." He said under a breath. "Hang in there, I've pin-pointed your location! We're ten miles out, I'll try to save time by cutting across the desert!"

The young Autobot shouted, pained and wheezing, having been shot. _"Scrap! Arcee's on her way too, with the others, I don't care which one gets here first! Screambox has taken a lot of damage! Bottom Out and Abandon are taking hits tryin' to- Damn it!"_ His audio stream cut short, the small explosion they heard in the back ending with it.

"Let's get to it, Optimus!" Bulkhead huffed, his engine roaring with anticipation.

Optimus swerved into the nearest ditch, racing as fast as he could haul himself across the rocky terrain, Bulkhead and the medic close behind. "We can only hope one of us arrives in time."

Alexis sat back in the pilot's seat, fingering the uncomfortable over-head straps that pressed against her bare shoulders. They'd been in the air for at least 20 minutes now, for the most part the ride was smooth, bonding for the two really. She hardly had the chance to sit in and fly with him. "Really Starscream? Can you make this a little looser? It's gagging me here."

The Decepticon sighed, doing as he was 'ordered'. "Anything _else_?" He hissed crossly.

She giggled. "No, thank you though."

"Good." He sniffed.

"So…. Before this turns into an awkward silence… What all has happened?" She laid her head back, which she found to be rather comfy, even for a pilot's seat.

"Well obviously we've not gained any progress against the Autobots in the past three years. Megatron has gone… Wherever, not that it concerns me, and for the moment, we seemed to be harvesting large energon deposits here in this desolate dust bowl."

"So basically good things." Alexis smiled, uncaring of his bitter reaction.

"Call it that as you wish." He finally groaned.

"Screamer, what exactly are you afraid of?" She sighed. "You think Megatron's going to kill you if you leave?"

"Think, Alexis?" He began on a sharp note. "I don't think, I know."

"Sheesh. The big bad Air Wolf scared of Megatron…. Seems like you've lost more than your reputation after Unicron's emergence…" She crossed her arms, biting the inside of her cheek lightly. She bunched as he slowed abruptly.

"What are you getting at?" He asked derogatively.

"I remember what Optimus told me, about your final stand… He told me you finally spoke your mind to Megatron, and ratted him out to be the horrid leader he always was… You forget that too?"

Truth was, he hadn't. He remembered what he said word for word… While his memory indeed remained patchy, excluding the resurfacing affections for Alexis - which he did cherish - a small part of him was indeed lost. As if his spark had been shattered. He now seemed more cowardly than ever, blatant to show any emotions beyond his usual rage and irritability. He had become a cowardly snake. He recalled the attacks he made on Megatron, including taking the saber to the chest…. Many times did Alexis flash in his mind, along with the others, two who he couldn't recall which was Rad and which Carlos.

"Star?" Alexis quipped lightly.

"… Egh. Yes?" He seemed to moan out.

"Just… Forget what I said. I want you to head somewhere, if you can…" She ran a hand through her hair, shuffling about with mild embarrassment.

"Where would that be?" He seemed to have a devious smile in his voice, feeling the increase of her heart rate and her movement. "Some place more romantic? You're being hormonal."

She nearly screamed out of simple frustration. "No! And I am not…" She almost sounded juvenile. "I was going to ask, how long would it take for you to head to Arizona? I have a private house out that way…"

He chuckled. "Not far. It's only a few hours away… From Las Vegas it's a three hour drive to Arizona. But for a flyer like me, less than an hour and half."

"That's good to know… I guess I don't have to worry about it today." She sent a longing glance out the side view window, plopping her hands in her lap to fiddle with the skirt of her dress.

"Something you need to see there?" He began to tilt to wrap around the large uprising of rock they passed seconds before.

"I have a vacation house there, built by my father before he died. It's got a built in private aircraft hangar. I just wanted to make sure the plane inside is alright, but since I know I can get there with good time, it's not much of a worry." She shook her head.

"If you want, I can take you there tomorrow should I be able to free some time… As of now, we're expecting company aboard the _Nemesis_…" He said hesitantly.

"… I'm not going to ask." She sounded suddenly angry, her heart rate thumping harder in her chest. Indeed she was angry, she knew what that company was.

"Look, Alexis…" He began, his words pure. "Our intentions, may be-"

"Evil? Cruel? Stupid? Pointless? _Ruthless_?" She pressed tersely, glaring at the control panel in front of her as if she were looking him in the face.

"You're not giving me a chance to speak out…" He growled back, his hull quaking.

"Frankly Starscream, I don't know what to make of you anymore. I know it's only been a day, but you were never so dishonorable. I don't know what saddens me more, knowing you died, or finding you after nearly 30 years and you've turned into some… I don't know! A… Tool!" She swore with her arms, crossing them briskly afterward.

He snarled, nearly bringing himself to a halt mid-air. "I am not a tool. I can admit to my cowardice and other indignant ways with you, Alexis, but I am by far anything but, a, tool!"

She huffed vocally. "Just let me down here. I'll walk it home."

"Don't be stupid Alexis, we're in the middle of nowhere." He objected.

"I don't care." She retorted. "I think this ride's over with." She began to feel her eyes grow hot and the familiar pressure in her nasal passages.

"And I…." He tightened the straps on her shoulders again, causing her to squirm in discomfort. "Think not. You just come out of nowhere to ruin my day, and expect to just leave without a proper departure? Not very kind of you, Alexis."

"Please." She wrapped a hand around her mouth when she realized her voice was breaking.

"I'm sorry, I must deny that request. You and I are going to have a little talk aboard the _Nemesis_…"

Her head hanged low, a saddened sigh slowly whizzing from her lips as she closed her eyes. "I'm no longer a child, Starscream, I can leave if I want to."

"Dear Alexis, you approached the Decepticons… I'm afraid there is no leaving by choice." He replied curtly, now having wrapped around to fly himself ship-bound. Alexis quieted afterward, retreating into the seat with a slight pang of regret, finding that a sharp of possible miss-placed trust in Starscream seeded itself in the back of her consciousness. She hoped that it would disintegrate with time, instead of grow.

The beast that Figure described truly was something to fear. It barreled towards Optimus again, warbling a feral war cry that was customary among Decepticons, swinging the wrecking ball from it's tail. He was able to score several hits to the giant's face, finding it unsurprising that the massive robot hardly flinched to the tiny blue bullets pelting his hide. Somewhere from the right and above his head, he could hear the pained cry of the helicopter-guised Decepticon who introduced herself crudely as Nightlite. She had taken something rather personal to Figure minutes into the battle, cat-calling him once he transformed into his bipedal mode. He was similar in structure to Rolltide, a giant 'lizard'. Fierce in appearance, he made up for it in prowess, having grounded her in minutes. Capable, potent, an admirable warrior who showed mercy when the time was right.

Optimus hurled himself onto his side, allowing the shrieking creature to tumble onto his side after a sloppy attempt to capture the Autobot in the process. Not far from where he lay, Bulkhead and Coldwave worked to offline the finely structured female who called herself Sugar Ray. She was quick on her feet, dodging their fire with tireless ease. It was only when Acree made a successful kick to her side and ground her was she fired upon ruthlessly.

The trumpeting cry of the Giga-grade Predacon caused Prime to raise his gaze, watching as he crumbled to his side, flames licking from an impact to the side of his head.

"Hahaaaah! That'll teach you to mess the Autobots you overgrown mutt!" Hollered Bottom Out from atop a cliff face, his cannon still smoking from the blast. "Get him now Dovey!"

"Already ahead of yuh!" Replied the pink and black mech, the doors on her back flaring as she slung a sizeable solid black pipe to bare from a compartment on her shoulder. Indication lights flickered along the barrel in segments, the ensuing blast nearly knocking her off her feet in a bright blue light. Beneath them, the grounded trembled and an intense pressure seemed to suck everyone in towards her slowly. Surprising even Optimus at the power of the weapon.

Excavator screamed as his right arm shattered like frail glass upon impact at the joint. Wires, fuses, cords, various other internal elements, sparking and exploding as the detached limp sailed for yards until it slammed into the bone-dry earth. The behemoth roared hatefully in her direction, attempting to move as she recollected herself to fire another shot. This time aim for his head. It wasn't long before the long whining sound resumed, and the Decepticon attack dog attempted to throw himself out of the way.

"Take this ya terrible beast!" Jakknife yelled, tracking the giant's movements and blowing out a hole in his side, casting metal shrapnel every which way.

Optimus braced himself, only ducking when the small female Decepticon, Nightlite, screamed as she was sucked into the percussive blast over his head, bouncing off the giant's faceplate with a sickening splat.

Figure began to slip during the aftershock, to which Bulkhead quickly yanked him into cover where he and the rest had treated behind a few sturdy boulders. Behind them, Rachet had covered Screambox's battered frame along with Bottom out and Coldwave who'd retreated during the charge of Jakknife's second round.

Sugar Ray let a shrill cry of infuriation at their damage. "Nightlite, Excavator, retreat! Retreat!"

Excavator was well on his way into his Vehicle-Mode before she could say anything more, rolling past a still dazed Nightlite.

"Scrap! We'll be back you Autotwits!" She shouted childishly with fisted servos, gaining a limping start in the other direction, taking her airborne form gracelessly and nearly shaving off the top of Sugar Ray's hood before she stabilized enough to escape.

Jakknife smiled, tossing her head to cast back the tell-tale strand of metal curled against her forehead. "Tat'l be all then eh?" She looked over at her emerging companions with a chuckle, approaching Optimus to offer him a hand as the dangerous weapon tucked back into her shoulder. "Two trucks are better than one, as I always say. Apologies Optimus, everyone. I hardly use that gun fer a reason. I'm hopin' non of ya got hurt…?"

"No, Jakknife" Optimus shook his head, taking her head and groaning as she pulled him to his feet, offering her a thankful nod to which she returned. "I'm fine…"

"We're all good, except Screambox over here…" Figure replied tiredly, hoisting a near-disabled white Autobot between him and Coldwave.

"Oh, Screambox…" Jakknife sighed in grief at the sight of her comrade's condition.

"His wounds are indeed extensive, but I'm not sure if they're entirely fatal…" Rachet began gravely, stepping out from behind him, having only been able to do so little without the help of the tools at base. "It's hard to say how long he'll last at this rate. And the impending weather system about to hit isn't exactly in our favor. We have maybe an hour before the storm arrives."

Optimus stepped forward, his optics now set on the dark border of clouds that approached, audio receptors picking up the faint sound of thunder. "It was not my intention to carry on the battle for that long… They were more difficult to dispatch that I'd first thought."

"No sweat Optimus, nobody knew 'Cons that stupid could be so tough." Bottom Out peeped, appearing at his side. "Lets get a move on though, those clouds give me the rumbles."

"Agree'd." Jakknife heaved into her vehicle-mode, shooting a chain off the back of her cabin. "Here, I'll drive Screambox to the base, tie him in, carefully. The rest of ya, get goin'. I'll be right behind you… If he's secured enough, I can go full speed, so make it as tight as you can."

Coldwave, Figure, and Bottom Out went to do just that.

"Oh yuh got ah' be kiddin'!" Rolltide swore, the wire he'd plugged into the back of the TV wiggling around in his distress. "'at's twelve times naoh that ah've lost to ya kids!" His sharp-shapely jaw etching into a grin at their laughter, Wavebuster joining them.

"Seems like somebody's gone rusty on their driving skills~" Wavebuster teased, ducking when the red ex-Con swiped at him playfully.

"Shut yer energon-hole ya punk!" He smirked aggressively, collapsing back on the wall and dipped his head over the railing to peer down at his charge. "As fer you three, we've got a score tah settle."

"Bring it!" Miko huffed at him, her hands on her thin waist as she leaned in to bring her face closer to his. "You'll just get owned again and again. It's really helping my rep on this game." She waved the controller teasingly. Jack and Raf behind her laughing quietly.

"I'll be tattlin' on you to Bulkhead, you're a mean one you 're." He chuckled, quieting when the weering of the base entry gathered their attention.

"Oh man…" Jack said quietly when Jakknife was the first to appear, a white Autobot settled unconscious on her trailer, sparks occasionally shooting from unseen damage within his armor.

Rachet was second to race in behind her, instantly taking his alt-form and directing her to back and park near the medical table.

"Woah… That must've been one intense battle." Miko commented quietly from over the railing as she watched the morbid sight.

"Eh, thar'll be no watching that for you." Rolltide intercepted her gaze, waggling a pointed finger.

"Awh! Oh, Bulkhead! Bulkhead!" Her short attention span became more evident upon seeing her Autbot guardian, waving her arm widely. "Was there some major aft-kicking?" She pumped her fists outward in a punching motion, causing Jack to roll his eyes when the rotund green Transformers headed their way.

"Easy Miko…" Bulkhead said quietly, his tone none-to-happy as he cast a glance over to the fallen Autobot. "Screambox took some bad hits, let's keep it quiet so Rachet can work…. This isn't a simple scratch repair we're talking about."

She sighed, her abrasive attitude on knotty situations still in check. "C'mon, the doc-man's got things under control! Dontcha Rachet?"

"Miko," Rachet looked over to her with a vindictive tone. "Right now, the chances he even make it to a stable stasis is questionable, slim-to-none as you Humans say. And the more you disturb me with your irksome behavior, the more likely his chances of being offline for good _escalate_!" He shook his head as he turned back around, swearing under his breath.

Her cheeks swelled, feeling foolish for being scolded at trying to brighten the undergoing circumstances. "Sorry." She bit out, slumping down on the couch with a stressed sigh. Bulkhead only shook his head at her simultaneously with Jack and Raf.

"Miko, can you never just, do as you're told?" Jack questioned grouchily, crossing his arms as he spoke. "Back in Japan, yeah, you got told to do everything, but here, especially in serious situations like this, it's wise to listen. These guys aren't fighting because it's fun, this is _not_ a video game or some science fiction movie. They're fighting for their lives, _our_ lives, this planet. I've already told you this over and over. _When _are you going to take that seriously? When one of them actually dies? You said it yourself when we first met them! They get dizzy, they have emotions, they die. They are not your personal playthings!"

Miko had begun glaring across to the far nearest wall, her elbow buried into the arm of the chair, chin on the ball of her palm. She twirled her phone in her hand, fuming.

"Just keep those words in mind, Miko. If Bulkhead or one of them dies, this won't be so fun for you anymore. Nobody around here's trying to crush your dreams of, I dunno, seeing a giant robot fight, pounding zombies- whatever!" He tossed arm in the direction of the Transformers to exaggerate his words. "Fact of the matter is, we don't have to be your parents to tell you to do something, we say it to keep you safe, not because you're stupid. I mean, jeez, you backtalk Optimus of all guys, Bulkhead, your own host parents who are pretty much wasting their time trying to let you have an experience most kids will _never_ be as lucky to have, scrap, you even talk to my mom like she's trash. What gives?" His voice had become harsh, crossing his arms and shaking his head. It was irritating, even insulting to listen to her and how she crossly affronted his mother. Only now did he realize exactly how much it'd actually gotten to him.

"Easy Jack…" Raf said softly, peering up at the older boy with worry, grabbing and tugging on his sleeve. "Please don't fight…"

"Yeah… Sorry Raf." He patted the shorter boy's head, giving him the most reassuring smile he could manage at the moment. He then made for the stairwell, jogging down it roughly and hopping off the last step. "I'll be back, gotta call mom before the storm hits… If anybody needs me, I'll be outside." He mumbled the end of his sentence, running his fingers through his sweaty hair, mostly due to the humidity from outside.

"Poor lad…" Rolltide murmured from somewhere behind Bulkhead, who was also watching the Human leave. "Ehy Arcee, try talkin' to 'em huh? He's ya boy after'll…"

"You try reasoning with Jack when he's like that. He often means what he says, especially if he feels like he's going to leave." She raised a hand, her palm outward as she shrugged. "I'll see what I can do." She then leaned up off the rocky wall, sauntering out after the boy.

"Man, that was some tense stuff there." Wavebuster rubbed the back of his head, looking over at Screambox who remained still, his vitals now stable as Rachet worked to piece him back together. His optics then flicked to the pile of unusable parts that the medic had removed from him already, shaking his head. "Hey doc, sorry to bother, but you want me to go see if I find replacement pieces? Possibly lend any of my own?"

Rachet sighed, his shoulders sagging. "I… Am not sure. If there's a junkyard in town… Some of these pieces I do have to replace… But… Augh, going to a metal waste of all places…"

"Hey come on, the guy needs help doesn't he?" Dredge stepped forward, glancing to Jakknife who agreed with a hum.

She folded her hands to her front, resting her weight on one leg. "Make us a list, we'll go get the items you need."

"Huaagh…. You're going to need a list with images…" He turned to face them now, rubbing his chin in thought. "It'd be suspicious, having so many vehicles surrounding a site like that… Perhaps, Jakknife could go it alone. Paint job aside, her status as a work vehicle will fit in better than any of you."

"Rachet, you think you transfer a digital list to my laptop?" Rafael peered between the rail bars, smiling softly at the Autobot.

"Possibly." He nodded in agreement.

"I'll take the wee lad with me then," Said Jakknife cheerily, she then turned to Optimus, smiling at him lopsidedly. "If that's alright with you, of course."

"So long as Jack and Miko accompany the both of you, it serves as a positive idea." He said simple, ignoring Miko's distant snort, turning when the soft footsteps of Jack and Arcee approached from behind. Jack lifted his head, a brow arched upward in inquiry.

"Something I did?" Jack suddenly looked worried, remembering the first time he left base, Optimus had ignored him when he returned. Possibly disappointed in the boy.

"Jack, will you join Raf and Jakknife in heading to the junkyard that lies beyond city limits?"

The black-haired boy shrugged slightly. "Sure, why? Needing parts?"

"Yeah, well, Rachet does." Raf's voice quivered as he trotted down to the ground-level. "For Screambox." He gestured with a look to the disabled Transformer sadly.

"You bet." Jack nodded, resolute. "When do we leave?"

"One moment," Rachet raised a finger. "Before you go, let me download a list of what I need, and we must hold out the possibility that even that grave yard of machines may not carry. So I ask that you bring back the most important items, I pray the place has them."

"Christian keeps everything you can think of, he charges a ridiculous amount of money for them sometimes, but he's open to barter's." Jack shrugged.

"You've been?" Ref inquired.

"Yeah, back during my School project… My old motorcycle, hence were I got it and the parts of it." He watched as Rafael ascended the stairs, having retrieved his laptop from his tucked away backpack and carefully set it down to allow Rachet to transfer the data.

The dark interior of the _Nemesis_ was more foreboding than Alexis first recalled, especially now that her trust with Starscream had been shaken.

_Then again…_ She thought shamefully. _I did just make the assumption he was going to be as noble as he used to be. I noticed he was far more devious than he was before, but never did this level to what I'd imagined. He's surpassed that… I wonder if he even told the truth about Demolisher and Cyclonus. Or if he's even playing this whole reunion thing up with me thinking I know something about the Autobots…_ She scratched at a spot on her head shakily, eyes gliding across the room to track the workers aboard the bridge, Starscream standing yards away in front of the main command panel, hovering over Soundwave's shoulder. It reminded her all too much of the incident back on the Autobot's space station they'd set up as a preliminary guard against any incoming Decepticon threats. She then rubbed the dark scar across her back self-consciously, feeling exposed in her dress for wearing it this long. She'd removed her sneakers, setting them neatly against the wall she leaned on, wishing she'd worn socks now that her toes had gone chilly. Soundwave nearly killed her that morning on the station, a result of her defending Smokescreen against him when the Decepticon had gained the upper hand in their physical battle. She hadn't heard anything from Rad about Sandstorm, the little mini-con who helped her disable Soundwave to begin with. Sureshock remained with High Wire, their outcome unknown to her as well. If she memorized correctly, Rad said they'd returned home. Where was home? Cybertron too? She couldn't recall it all. It had been nearly 30 years after all. She felt a tingle in her two outer fingers on her left hand again, then it faded. It wasn't a common occurance, but it was the outcome of lasting damaged nerves from the deep slice on her back. Truly something minor considering what she could've suffered.

"Growing tired?" Came Starscream's grinding voice, causing her to raise her head to him. It was third time he'd asked in the past two hours.

"No. Slowly going insane from being cooped up in this bat cave, but I'm hanging in there." She mumbled sourly, turning her gaze away from them. Somewhat, she wanted to just flee as he she heard his boots clang on the metal floor towards her. Yet her trusting and affectionate side got the best of her again, and she allowed him to pick her up like a rag doll. He was still as gentle as she remembered to be, cupping her carefully as he peered down at her with those menacing red eyes.

"Surely by now you must be hungry." He raised a brow plate.

"Yeah, it can wait… I'm fine. Just very… bored." She waved him off lightly, dropping her head to rest it in her palm.

"I could always send you to someone for amusement. Care to try reconciling with Soundwave again?" He smiled crudely.

"Just to fight again?" She huffed up at him.

"It's entertaining to say the least." He raised to eye-level.

"Yes I'm sure. Stressing Humans out is just _so_ fun!" She waggled her fingers with the roll of her eyes before her expression changed to one of being unenthusiastic.

"Quite." He replied lightly, turning to carrying her towards the doorway out. "Come… I still need to hold my favor, to speak with you in private, my dearest Alexis."

She swallowed quietly, her eyes switching to every shadow as they traversed the corridors, which began to get maze-like and dizzying for her after a short period. Momentarily forgetting her shoes, ah, she didn't need them.

"Where are we going?" She finally spoke up after several minutes, turning her head up from the floor to his face. Having been watching his legs pop into her vision hypnotically till now.

"My personal quarters. I'm promise you, this'll be short." He replied emptily, his voice distracted, which gave Alexis the impression he'd been thinking their entire walk. Another left, two rights… It wasn't until they reached the first door down another hallway to the right that they had come to their destination. The doors were plain, unmarked from what she could see, how could they figure out who's room was who's? It baffled her how anybody could go about this ship without the slightness confusion. Then again, she was puny organic, she certainly couldn't comprehend what they're internal navigational systems were like. Or how complex they were to begin with.

He stood motionless, a small red line appeared cast-over his optic lenses, blipping softly in confirmation before the door whooshed open. He grinned as they entered the room, it smelled metallic inside to her, more so than outside in the halls. Did Transformers really give off an odor? Not that she could recall, they always smelled like machine lubricants and rubber so far that she'd known.

"It's rather decorated, but there are perks to being Second in Command. Such as having a private ID Optical Scanner to keep all but the head of command out." His body language rather flamboyant now as the lights in the room flickered to life when he motioned his arm over to the wall, over a scanner. It almost making Alexis snicker. He had changed more than she first suspected, then again, when she noticed the heels, it grew questionable what they'd done to him during the rebuild. He set her down on a stainless steel free-standing counter, which she figured - by visual inspection - was a desktop.

"Seems cozy enough…" She rubbed her arm and shivered briefly to the cold breeze he cast when he strolled by to wrap around the desk, seating himself in a chair that became buoyant to his presence. Her vision wandered about the room, not much she could have guessed to be a 'bed' in sight, nor a couch or anything that a Transformer could use to 'relax'. _Why is people always look to see what kind of bed other people sleep in when they come into a bedroom? _She squirmed at herself.

"Oh it's cozy for my liking… Seems rather bare, but I prefer to keep my quarters roomy until I need something. The recharge bed and such, tuck away." He flicked his fingers to the wall insouciantly, a crook in his upper lip for a moment. "Now then, our little exchange…"

"Star…" She looked to him, begging in her voice. She didn't want to be hurt, she made that clear.

"Let me speak." He hushed her with the tip of his claw, which she leaned away from when she noted it's sharp tip. "Sorry," he quipped, pulling his hand away when he noticed.

"No, it's okay." She waved him off with an awkward smile that dropped near-instantly.

"Alexis, let me begin by saying this… I've come to suspect in the past several hours since we were groundside, that you have grown wary of me. Knowing you, your keen senses are still quite prevalent."

_Ya think…?_ She couldn't help but blurt in her head.

"Quite understanding," He continued. "However… Might I say? The gravity of my actions I know affect you, and it very much pains me to see your face fall when we bring up such miserable recollections. Even if it has been 24 years to mark since the events that separated us. I see you've hardly changed, your personality is still… As charming as I found it during my stay with the Autobots." He leaned against the desk, dropping his head down to bring his face to her level. "I… Do recall things from my time in Unicron's wakening, and I'm sorry I cannot shape myself to be who I was…" His hand had snaked around just outside her vision, a finger running along her back with the utmost ginger. She had almost automatically leaned into the rubbing. He was being far more affectionate in displays now that they were away from prying eyes. She felt herself becoming comfortable with him just as she used to be.

"I want this little affiliation between us entirely separate of my work life, as you Humans call it. Be as it may, really Alexis, I don't want what I do bothering you so severely. The last thing I want is for you to come to harm after all this time. I am closed to all reason, I will make that clear. Decisions will be made in their own time, by me. And only me." He watched her brows fall at his words into a disappointed frown, yet she didn't appear on the verge of crying. Her lower lip sucked into her mouth, she was biting it gently. In thought? To bottle her emotions? He wasn't sure. He removed his finger from her back, tipping her chin with it. She shook to it's icey touch, unpleasant.

"Depends Starscream… If there's really anything to rekindle. This all comes down to you, whether you think it's appropriate at this time." She said quietly, pulling her chin from his finger to resist the nagging urge to cling to it.

"Appropriate? Hardly. Though it's not impossible to juggle subjects of particular interest." He smiled at her softly, it was first time he'd done it without the dangerous glint in his optics. And had actually meant it. "Granted I wouldn't be able to see you daily, the word 'often' treated with scarcity."

"I wouldn't expect visits, 'Screamer. Not with things escalating the way they are…" She shook her head, the small smile on her face instantly falling, as if her face struggled to hold it there. Slowly, she stood, drawing her palm across her eye to wipe away the back building tears on one, failing to catch the others that fell from her other eye. Starscream's brows raised, then quickly arched downward as she clambered to his faceplate almost as a newborn fleshling would, gripping his face as tight as she could. Her face remained turned away from his, a moist cheek pressing painfully hard into the side of his jaw as her shoulders quaked in silence. "God, I-I missed you…"

He let a whine that sounded like an injured puppy, a part of him didn't care whether she missed him or not, yet the remaining fragments in his un-wiped spark felt guilty. He sighed, resting his chin atop the counter with clink, having gone cross-eyed to watch her go through her emotion throws. His shoulders slumped, wrapping a hand around her slightly, but not prying her off. "I'm sorry, Alexis."


	4. I Follow Rivers

**Author's Note: Warning, this chapter is huge, containing 10,879 word(s). Needless to say, it's the longest chapter I've written. XD Possible OptimusxJune? I dunno. **

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><p>Jack's frown would meld his face that way for good, should he have to remain in the same cabin as Miko. Both had argued not to sit in the same vehicle together, but an authoritative bark from Optimus was enough to get them to going. Even Miko jumped at the boom of his voice, having had quite enough of the children's bickering. Rafael seemed squeamish about getting in afterward, not wanting to get in between them. Luckily for him, Jakknife was trying to make light of the situation, coaxing Rafael to sing with her to the radio, which he did, having almost forgotten the two feuding older teens. Almost.<p>

"Well… The tension in here isso thick I 'cuh cut it. Be easy you two… Just try to remain on the point of our trip down here, and not on each other." She said loftily as they came to a red light. Her holodrone waving at the admiring children below on the sidewalk. She took of the appearance of a middle-aged woman who wasn't overweight, yet had meat on her bones. Her hair was a mix of pink, dark gray, and silver, curled and falling over her face like a dog. She wore a silver, black, and soft fuchsia colored racing jacket that remained open over a black shirt with two thin vertical pectoral stripes, finishing the look with a slick pair of black faded denim jeans. The silver boots were momentarily obsessed over by Miko, who found them to be a rocker's Must Have. Her eyes remained the autobus blue, against almost ghostly pale skin. For the most part her face was round, with a thin brow line and equally pudgy rose tone lips. Strategically, she had asked Rafael to sit between the two warring children, he complied, despite being hesitant to get in the middle of their nonsense. He kept himself occupied by examining the parts required by Rachet, glancing around every time one of his older compatriots shifted. Preparing to duck if he had to. This had been one of the worst ideas from Optimus, he had to admit to himself quietly. Hopefully the Prime knew what he was thinking when he placed them together.

"There it is," Jack pointed through the window at a rather unwelcome place. Surrounded by a black ailing chain link fence barricade, the run down place was utopia of metal parts. Dove could easy discern four to five mountainous piles of metal fragments from all over. Trashed and rusted vehicles lined the front like statuesque guard dogs.

"Looks appealing," She said warily as she turned into the vacant gravel parking lot behind the business office, which looked like a death trap. "Dear Primus, Jack, how did you make it out alive?"

He finally chuckled, though it was flat. "It's not as bad as you think, the place isn't supposed to be a glamour pageant. They crush unusable parts down to make new ones or replacement parts, since metal takes so long to decompose. Christian's a nice guy, his forward attitude will scare you at first, but he's harmless." He gave her a worry-free grin, his eyes completely avoiding Miko as he dropped his gaze to Raf. "Hey, you ready?"

"Yup, lemme just close this up, I'll take it inside." He said as he closed an open program on his screen, folding the thin silver laptop down and tucking it away under his arm.

"Uh, Dove?" Jack raised his head.

"Yes dear?" She looked over at him from the window, her eyes still focused on the scrap yard like it was a horror film.

"I… Don't know if Miko's going to come in, so could you watch her?" He shrugged as he hopped down to the ground off the step-rail.

"I'm not four Jack." Miko responded with a growl.

"Hey," Jakknife slapped her hand on the seat as a warning to them. "That's enough Miko. Someone's life is in danger, this is serious. Go wittim, I won't be talleratin' you sulking in muh cabin. Go." She pointed to the door that was still ajar like she was sending a Dog away. Miko complied, going slow on purpose in hopes she would reconsider. As soon as her boots hit the gravel, the Autobot slammed the door, and Miko almost winced at the sound of it locking. She looked back at it, then to the boys who had already walked ahead into the gateway, sighing in exaggeration before following.

Below him, his loyal minions worked tirelessly to harvest the form of his new energy source, a purple and sinister glowing substance he found he'd formed an addiction to. Megatron scanned the valley, a grin etched into his scarred and wrinkled features. For all that he could see, every corner of the desolate place was filled with the crystallized form of power. It was as if Unicron's blood was boiling out of the Earth itself. Never did the worry of potentially losing his to-be-conquered planet cross his mind, not now. His greed, lust for power… The solidity in his plan could never be shattered. He'd learned his mistake with Cybertron, though it was not going to happen here. Not again. Refocusing himself onto his workers below, his vision lapsed between spectacles of the current, and the future. Where he and his Decepticon followers could receive the lap of luxury they so rightfully deserved, where as the Humans slaved away in their place to harvest their new life-source. He could almost envision it now, upon his mighty thrown where all who once opposed groveled desperately in hopes to gain his saving grace. Perhaps the event of throwing them into a tar pit to watch them slowly burn for his recreation. His men, all shimmering with pride standing on either of him. And to finish the eccentric foresight, Prime's bloodied, battered, broken, offline head on a pedestal- No! A Spike…. beneath glass, spinal column and all. In a custom chamber full of trophies, the heads of his Autobot fellowship. He would, for eternity, hold the title of being the first, the last, and the only, to kill the final Prime in existence. His attention was brought forth to reality when the thump of a body had drawn his gaze to the grounds below. A worker had fallen, succumbed to the dark energon.

"You," He pointed to a miner not far off, then to another. "And you, take him away. Replace him with someone else able."

"Yes, Lord Megatron." They complied in unison, immediately dragging the weakened Transformer away to an established safety zone, a more able bodied worker passing them on the way.

_"Lord Megatron,"_Knock Out's voice slipped through over his static laced comm.

"Yes Knock Out, what is it?" He addressed the medical bot casually, basking the waves of dark energon seeping from the crystals.

_"Our first round of new personnel forces have arrived… maltreated."_He seemed hesitant to say the last part, rightfully so as he feared Megatron's rage.

"From what?" The Decepticon leader hissed through his canine-like dental plates.

_"Orders from Airachnid, sire. To intercept a group of Autobot interlopers."_He sounded nervous, perhaps, Megatron figured, Airachnid was behind him.

"Yet again she pushes me to the edge. Where is my Second in Command?" He pressed a claw to his brow in distress, a small attempt to keep his temper from boiling over.

_"He is aboard my lord, he too was unaware of Airachnid giving such commands. He is en route to the bridge now to deal with the situation, having arrived from the secondary mining site. Shall, I have you contact him when he is present?"_

"No. It isn't necessary, I will be coming to deal with her myself. Make that clear to Starscream as well. Go, leave the communication line open and tend to our new workforce. I want them in sterling condition when they are repaired, is that clear?"

"Yes, my lord." He then cut the line, leaving Megatron in silence once again.

"Seems incompetence has run rampant through chain of command while I was away… Hasn't even been a full day yet." He turned to address the miners below, his voice bellowing out over the valley. "Continue your work! I'm afraid order must be restored aboard the Nemesis! I shall return!"

"Yes, Lord Megatron!" All who observed him shouted in unity without fail. With the scrape of his heel, he darted forward and leapt his heavy frame into the air before transforming, his boosters burning furiously at full speed towards the ship. Intent of solving their relapsing issues once and for all.

Alexis had been feeling rather giddy throughout the entire drive back into town. The low blood sugar was no longer an issue, considering Starscream had been kind enough to fly her and her vehicle closer to town before setting her free, and she was soon able to feed herself. Luckily enough for her, the vehicle had remained stationary and untouched the entire day. The goodbye couldn't have been more informal, although she accepted it due to the situation taking place aboard the Decepticon ship, something he had to rush to solve.

And within his quarters it had been short, for the most part. What with her crying fit fallen quiet, she found herself reacting impulsively, planting a kiss upon his pale cheek that made him stutter for a short while. Putting an authentic smile on her face, one he reacted to childishly. Although that wasn't what made her so giddy, most surely it had to have been the vengeful return favor he so cruelly gave her. Leaving her in a maddened arousal fit after he'd finished, then he went about grinning smugly after they exited, her curled in his hand. Making her want to find a place to hide with the overwhelming embarrassment.

On thing proved for certain, Starscream wouldn't have done such things had he not harbored any left over feelings. She wiped her cheek again, finding it still sticky from his saliva, or whatever fluid passed as such. It was understandable, considering the size difference in their mouths and when he kissed her. She entered the hotel and greeted the desk clerk in a way that even surprised him, a wide-spread grin, the wave of a hand and almost a near-skip to the elevator. Surely after today she would call Rad, tell him everything besides her day with Starscream.

Sitting on her bed after cleaning off was her first priority, now in the dim light of her room, she began to wear down and grasp how tired she actually was now that her adrenaline had worn off. She grabbed her phone up from the nightstand, reducing the volume on the TV and allowing herself to drop back on the cool pillows, making her lower back goose-pimple through her shirt. Skirting the list of numbers, she found what she'd been looking for and pressed the call button, hoping the number was still the same. As she sat there and listened to the phone ring, her mind strayed to wonder what tomorrow would bring. Starscream hadn't exactly been able to discuss a means of when they could reunite.

_"Hello?"_

"Rad?" She smiled.

_"Yes, this is he."_

"Guess who~"

_"Uhhh…."_

She frowned, rolling her eyes. "It's Alexis.,.. Alexis Ti Dang?"

_"Oh! Hey Alexis! How are you? It's been a good while!"_He suddenly sounded like he did when he was a child.

She laughed. "Yeah, it has! I'm doing fine, I'm taking up coop in a hotel towards Jasper's core. So how have you been?"

"Are you serious? Man, I wish I'd known earlier… I've been well, Odele just had our second child a couple months ago, named her Emily." He sounded embarrassed talking about it, then Alexis heard the chatter of another child in the back, partially muffled with what sounded like flapping paper. "Marie, quit that will you? Dad's on the phone."

She tittered softly when she heard a distant "sorry".

_"Sorry about that."_

"Two girls in the house, you're going to pay for it now." She giggled with a grin after hearing him chuckle.

_"Yeah you know it. We've been pretty lucky though, Emily's turned out to be like Marie in terms of quiet babies. She doesn't cry a lot, and sleeps through the night most of the time."_

"Aw they sound darling. How old are they both?" She twiddled with her fingernails.

_"Emily's five months now, and Marie's four years of age. So yeah, still needs a babysitter, but she's smart like her mother, makes things easier for Rochelle."_He laughed softly, partially coughing.

"Ah I see… Uh, at any point can you guys be free for dinner maybe sometime this month? I'd love to meet, catch up."

"Yeah sure thing! Man, how about we get the whole crew together, huh? Carlos should be back from his business trip in DC, I'll see if I can coax him into flying over. Let's see… It's Thursday so…. No… Uh, Monday night?"

"That'll be wonderful, Rad. Is Odele able to make it?"

_"She is- Er, I'll have to ask, both of us work jobs that allows us to stay at the house one at a time a couple times a week. We both have Monday off, I'll just make sure tonight. So, but, yeah, it's great to hear from you again, can't wait to see you and the whole get together."_

"Same here, Rad," She smiled, hunkering into her sheets now that her eyes had grown heavy. "Well, I'm going to hit the hay for the night, I had my dinner and uh, went shoppin'~ So I'm tuckered out."

_"Yeah alright,"_ He said with a grin in his voice. He'd always been enthusiastic, ever since he was a boy. He never lost hope in anything, especially the Autobots. _Oh! The Autobots!_

"Rad?"

_"Hauh- Yeah?"_

"I went to go visit the Autobot base, they moved. Fault on my part for not calling and asking, do you have any idea where they might've gone off to?"

_"Awh, yeah I hadn't spoken to them in years. They moved about three years ago to another remote canyon base due just north of Jasper, mainly because the other had structural issues, the stompin' around you know?"_ He chuckled. _"I haven't talked to them yet since then."_

"What happened? Not on good terms?" She felt concerned.

_"Oh no, no! It's just life Alexis. Seeing them is a treat now, I can't make the trip out there anymore, it's almost an hour and half outside town for me, it's hard enough to find time to get out and not go stir-crazy as it is."_

"Hmm I hear ya. Alright, maybe I'll catch one of them driving about tomorrow."

_"Optimus does from time to time, or if you see Arcee, she's a unique blue motorcycle that often appears outside the KO Burger in the south end of town, she's there almost everyday for a new kid with black hair. A very fiesty crotch-rocket. Honestly, you can't miss the big red and blue Peterbilt. If it's a quiet day, he drives around just to get out late in the afternoon, sometimes at night, he doesn't smile or laugh much these days. Dunno why. She's the most often to see though around five or six in the afternoon, careful approaching her. She's wary of other Humans for a reason."_His sentence was partly interrupted by the laughter of a girl in the back, which in turn made him do the same.

"Thanks Rad for the info, I'll catch him, maybe her, if I can, hopefully before I leave. Goodnight, can't wait for Monday evening."

_"Sure thing Alexis, g'night."_

She heard him hang-up, resting the phone in her lap and glancing out at the window which was being pattered upon by rain. She was now wide awake with the new info, hopefully tomorrow she'd get the chance to catch up with old friends.

"Feelin' bettuh mate?" Rolltide grinned from his spot by the computers, watching his companion rise on the examination table with a metallic hum. Rachet had yet again, worked his magic, and now resided table-side, flipping a Transformer sized wrench in his hand with a subtle grin. It was easy to tell he was proud of himself for using what he had to make due. The children had refused to go home despite it being a school night, even Jack would have rather endured a nagging from his mother, and called her to say he would be late and not to worry. Explaining to her what happened.

Screambox nodded, his attention on the children clustered at his feet with bright eyes, like he was a present on Christmas morning. "Yeah, I feel great, a lot better than I did…" He rotated his shoulder, hear the mechanical cogs inside hiss and pop as they should've, his fans still working heavily to cool him down from Rachet's welding process. He looked to Rafael who was inspecting his three-talon foot with awe. He lifted it slowly with a smile in the direction of the boy subtly, wiggling his toes at him, making him laugh heartily. He grinned back toothily when the others laughed as well.

"What's up?" He addressed them with a Ukrainian accent, elbows propped on his white armored thighs.

"Nothi-ing, what's up with you?" Raf addressed him with a shy smile, pushing his goggles onto his face out of nervous habit.

"Nothing much. Just got blown to pieces, kicking Con aft-ends. So what's your names?" He grinned crookedly.

"My name is Rafael, but you can call me Raf. Over there is Jack Darby and Miko Nadakai." He pointed to the other two who waved their hands in response to his switching gaze.

"Hello you two. I'm pretty sure you all know that my name is Screambox, but I'll introduce myself anyway." He bowed on table as if he were bowing before a crowd, arm swept over his mid-section, making them all giggle again. Even Jakknife and Rolltide joined in, glad to see he was still his humorous self after all that time. For a fraction of a moment, Jack thought he saw Optimus wearing a small smile. Though he couldn't really tell on his reflective facial plating. "So," He craned his head up at Rachet. "How long do I have to take it easy? Or are you finished with the repairs….?"

"A week at base and you should be up and running fully, I give you my word. For now, let's take it easy." Rachet waved him down, resting the wrench he was holding on the operating tray nearby.

"Got it, doc. Thanks." He said with a tired sigh, looking down to inspect his hand before he carefully slid off the table, stepping over the children with care. "Pardon me, peanuts." He grinned at them, looking over at an approaching Optimus who turned to address everyone.

"I apologize for the current housing issues within the base, for now I must ask you to recharge and take your rest in the training arena until we are able to construct individual rooms for you all." He nodded. "Arcee, Bulkhead, may I ask that you two remain with Jack and Miko for the evening? It would allow a little more room in the base for everyone to move about. You too, Bumble Bee."

Bee perked up from his spot behind the exam table. Looking to Raf who was already smiling at him happily.

"Sounds good to me." Bulkhead grinned, winking at an elated Miko who hugged his foot.

"Ye-hes!" She shouted. "The punks at school are gonna fa-reak when we roll up!"

Jack only grinned sheepishly at Acree who smiled softly in kind. He knew she hated being trapped in his garage, especially all night. "If you want, you can do whatever," He said quietly, happy he no longer had to worry about keeping her secret from his mother.

"No worries Prime…" Coldwave finally broke her silence, having transformed but stayed within her established corner of the base by the ground bridge gate. "We're used to going into sleep-stasis in our vehicle forms. Though the rooming out idea was a good move." She earned sour looks from most of the Autobots, but blatantly ignored them. Even her voice made the kids gather worried looks. She sounded possessed, grindy, hollow.

Figure nodded. "Coldwave's right, we're all good." He spoke his American boy accent, plain and deep. "Besides the remark about forcing the others out. Sounds like the dog needs to sleep outside in the cold, after all, the element's in her name." He sneered. That, hit a wire. She glared at him through blue optics behind shaded lenses, arms crossed tightly across her chest.

"Enough." Prime said quietly, hushing them with a hand before the confrontation swelled. "Let us rest for the night."

Airachnid's back made a hollow bang against the bridge wall, so hard it dented the paneling. She hit the floor, groaning as her joints sparked and quaked, lifting her head woozily at the sight of Megatron's feet inching closer to her face. He stopped just short of kicking her again.

"You seem to forget, Airachnid, who ultimately, holds the chain of command within this ship," He hissed in aggravation. "Prioritizing, and executing a strike on Autobot forces, is not something you can just direct, without consulting me! Is that understood?" He reached down, grabbing the spiderbot by the nape of her neck, lifting her to his eye-level, the tips of his clawed servo burying into her throat. "Now, my once perfect group of insurrectionists are heavily damaged and in the med bay. All because you could not demonstrate a sense of organization with your little unauthorized gamble!" He dropped her, watching her crawl back against the wall, winded and having nothing to say. "I'll make this the last warning, Airachnid…. My warriors are not your pawns in a game of Human chess. There is only one King on this playing board, and I all think we know who that is, now don't we? Should I hear of your insolence again, I will find you, and offline you myself. Now get out of my sight!" He threw his arm at her, watching as she forced herself to her feet, using her many legs to aid in her escape. He did not care to where she'd flee to, even if it was outside the ship. So long as he didn't have to see her anymore for a long time to come.

"Starscream," He growled hoarsely. The miniscule seeker jerked at his name.

"Yes… My lord?" He tapped the tips of his claws together, managing an awkward and knowing 'My Aft is Scrap' smile.

"There is… One more thing I'd like to address with you…. And, Knock Out. However, he'll come later." He rotated around to look down at the frail-looking Transformer. "Upon entering the Nemesis I was informed that Breakdown was sent in your place to over see the excavation operation hours ago. Yet before I arrived, Knock Out informed that you were just arriving from the site yourself. Care to explain what is going on?"

"What? I told him not to say anything!" He blurted furiously, recoiling with a sheepish laugh when Megatron's face grew even darker. "I-I was following a Human. I'm not sure who she was exactly, but it was clear she was looking for the Autobot base. I felt it was unnecessary for you to know," His voice was cracking. "Considering the reconnaissance turned up fruitless…"

"How do you the Human was looking for the Autobot base?" He snapped.

"Cell phone signal, my lord…" His eyes darted every which way, looking for a means of escape should Megatron decide to get physically abusive again. As he'd always been. "She w-was speaking to another Human. Though it is apparent the other did not know either!" He scrambled back as far as he could from larger Decepticon that lumbered his way. He then stopped, turning to the sound of the bridge doors hissing ajar. Who entered was not Airachnid, but a glinting green Decepticon. One he'd had trouble with before. He was accompanied by others. A gangly-looking Decepticon who could've been mistaken for a Mini-Con, and a blue, curved Transformer who held a constant seductive expression.

"BlowOut, Bonejangle, Black Light…. So good to see you again," He threw a glare over his shoulder at the cowering seeker. "I'll deal with you later, Starscream. You are dismissed."

The seeker bowed graciously as he hastily made for the alternate bridge entry. "Thank you, sire…" He quivered, slinking away.

Black Light rolled his eyes at the commander once the doors closed, jumping at Megatron's heavy footfalls.

"I called you three here as you are the only others who are able bodied for the time being…"

"Sire, may I ask, what happened to the others?" BlowOut piped up, leaning back on a foot and crossing his arms, finding the whole exchange instantly boring.

"They had been set loose to attack traveling Autobot recruits along with several vital drones without my permission."

"Ohhh bad luck." Moaned Bonejangle, the wires sprouting from his head wiggling.

"Bad luck indeed, Bonejangle." He turned his head to BlowOut, who still looked at him incredulously. "I have a special mission for you, especially, BlowOut… Which you'll be undergoing tonight when this meeting as ended." He tilted his head, a sickening toothy grin in the face of the surprised Decepticon. BlowOut had never truly admired Megatron, making his alliance questionable. This particular assignment would finally allow Megatron to discern where he stood within the war. Many times did the shorter Decepticon disobey Megatron when it came to certain things, though he wasn't nearly as notorious as Starscream, he was certainly earning a similar reputation.

"My men have spotted a vehicle of your exact body-type prepared to be delivered to a little Human tomorrow morning for her 19th birthday, which takes place four days from now. Why don't we make her special day even more special? With a vehicle that's More Than Meets The Eye…." His grin was sharp, piercing, devilish. All things that made BlowOut shudder in disgust inside. It's a wonder the Decepticon leader didn't spit acid like a black creature BlowOut had seen once in an old Human movie.

"You… Want me to reveal myself to her, Lord Megatron?" He went about his question carefully.

"You could say…" He rotated his hand in a casual manner. "The female Autobot, Arcee… You two are going have a fateful encounter on that day. By the end of the month, I want you to infiltrate the Autobot base as one of the them. Failure is not an option, BlowOut."

"You make yourself clear, Lord Megatron." BlowOut nodded loyally, but in the back of his mind he remained worried. Mostly the worry if he could control his own cravings to escape the Decepticons. He had to play it safe, to wait it out, he'd rat them out to Optimus if he gained enough trust first. They'd taken Ex-Decepticons before, Rolltide was among them. It was his own greed for power that eventually led BlowOut to the Decepticons, and his fear of dying by their hands. Particularly Megatron's.

The heat on her back felt so relaxing, that it'd taken twice as long for Alexis to wake than usual. She rolled onto her back, inhaling sharply when she twisted her head to look to the clock, finding she'd slept in way past her intended get-up curfew. "Twelve-thirty!" She yelped, before calming herself. "God Alexis you did it again…" She sighed, rubbing her forehead. I wonder what Starscream is up to… She then smiled softly as she recalled the day before. Her hand snaked along the wood of the nightstand, lifting her phone to check for any messages. She had only one, which made her raise a brow to when she flipped it open.

**Meet me in the mouth of the canyon this evening, like yesterday, no later than 10:00 PM.**

From, 20-21-1-19-20-3-19-5-1-14

Message Sent 5/11/11, 1:06 AM, Message Received 5/11/11, 1:07 AM

"What…?" It then dawned on her. "S" was the 20th letter in the alphabet, the rest was easy from there to solve. It remembered of the days when she would number encrypt messages to her friends at school to confuse the teachers during days when they planned to see the Autobots. So he'd been hacking her phone then too? The toad. She grinned anyway.

"From, _S-T-A-R-S-C-R-E-A-M._" She said as she went through the numbers in her head.

She huffed, throwing herself from the bed and rushing to clean up for the day ahead, hoping it would be just as eventful.

She left the hotel expect mild afternoon traffic, finding it pleasantly surprising that the streets were near barren, as if some sort of ritual was going on. It then came about as creepy when there were hardly any people strolling the sidewalks either. Coming to a stop at a red, she leaned against the doorframe, enjoying the faintly moist breeze that swept down from the distant forest. It reminded her much of the kiss Starscream had planted on her face… As she opened her eyes she felt her heart thump into her throat, across the intersection sat a familiar truck. A Peterbilt, from the shape of it. Fire red, as Rad had said Optimus would be. Though it was impossible to see if it was the actual truck from the glare of the sun. Unable to even discern the Autobot insignia on it's front grill, she gripped the steering wheel, trying to remain calm. Her eyes jumping from the truck to the eventual turning signal that'd allow her to get a clear look at the vehicle. It's signal was on after all, it appeared to be heading out of town.

Please let it be him… She would feel like she could fly if it was. As the signal turned green, Alexis felt silly for stalking the end of a truck, a foolish smile on her face when the end of glinted a familiar blue. She jumped into the right turning lane after checking that it was clear, resisting the urge to dart after it. She rolled in behind it slowly, watching as it headed into a rough looking parking lot outside a closed down store of unknown origin.

_Is he onto me? I did just jump two lanes after he turned, he's always been observant._She drifted past, assuming she was out of sight before turning into the first alley way she could find, rushing to shut off the jeep and exit. As she came around the corner her shoulders slumped, he was gone. So it was Optimus… She thought with a sigh, disappointed he hadn't recognized her. As she turned to depart the front end of a Peterbilt hidden in the shade of the building's side caught her attention. So he had seen her, and was hiding. Well too bad, she saw him. A smile remained plastered to her face, fearlessly approaching him when she noticed the Autobot emblem on his grill. He remained still as she neared, his engine idling. Her voice was emotional as she spoke up.

"Optimus…?"

"…"

She placed a hand on the rim of his hood, chest swelling with pure joy. "It's only been 14 years, why are you being so suspicious? Have my looks really changed that much? It's me, Alexis…? I was with Rad? Carlos? And you better tell me where Hotshot went!"

"…"

She seemed confused. "Are you mad at me or something…? Hm?" She blinked at the subtle pop of his passenger-side door, it slowly slung out, her smiling widen with it. "Oh you do recognize me, it's rude to shut out a girl you know! Mmhmhm! About time!" She laughed gleefully, leaping into the empty seat inside and settling in as he closed the door and flinging the seatbelt over her shoulder, clipping it shut.

"It's been a while Alexis." He regarded her warmly, humming a very faint chuckle when she hugged his seat tightly like an excited 7 year old.

"I know… How is everyone? Rad told me you have a new Autobot named Arcee…."

"Our original crew when we arrived here on Earth has departed for the stars, possibly to find aid from other scattered members of the Autobot cause. Even Hotshot."

Her smile shrank slightly. "I see… What happen to Red Alert? Smokescreen? They left too?"

"Yes." He replied, monotone. "I apologize."

She shook her head. "No… Don't. I'm just glad at least some of my friends stayed behind… Did you ever put in to repairing the Space Station?"

"We have, but as of three years ago we lost contact with the Station Cluster. Jetfire, among others were aboard." He sighed softly at the memory.

She lowered her eyes, deeply hurt by the news they might've potentially lost some of the best Autobots in the Galaxy. "I'm so sorry Optimus. Rad told me you're not as happy as you used to be… I guess with everything that's happened, I can understand why…" She decided to change the subject quickly. "I went out for a drive, looked for you in the base. When I arrived the place looked horrible, Rad also said you guys moved out because of structural problems?"

"Indeed. The roof was notoriously collapsing due to tectonic tremors, particularly every time we entered after several years, so we hadn't any other option. It continuously crushed our equipment. Even I admit to growing strenuous in attempts to fix things that'd been damaged."

"Sounds like good reasons enough to move." She tittered, falling silent in thought. She then spoke after several minutes, secretly surprised he didn't say anything in that time. Rad was right, he was out of it. "I guess I'll be leaving you to take of what you have to, it was good to see you again Optimus."

He then quickly responded as her palm rested on the doorframe. "You wish then not to visit our new outpost?"

She looked confused for a moment, then figured it might've lightened his mood if she did. "Yeah I'd be happy to, I just don't want to get in the way."

"Three children are currently present and have not caused distress to any of us, and you are a friend to the Autobots, you are always welcome Alexis." His voice had warmed again.

"Three kids already? You guys make friends fast." She laughed quietly, patting his dashboard lightly.

"It was unintentional." He admitted.

"Yeah but as were us when we met you guys… Some of the things we went through, now that I look back on it… Those were the days. Oh, now I'm reminiscing like an old lady. That scares me." Her eyes scanned through surroundings once he moved out from the shadows, setting out on the road for home. "You saw me coming didn't you?"

"I hadn't the faintest inkling it was you. Although when you walked for me, showing you were not of holodrone, I had to assume you were someone I knew at some point. Decepticon activity has been down in the past few days, yet we can never predict their next form of attack." He stopped at a red, grunting when he noticed an upcoming vehicle in his rear-view to the right. Alexis jumped when his holodrone fizzled from a hidden projector in his dashboard. She had almost done a double-take at the look he chose. For some reason it suited him. She was aware of their double identities, Hotshot had used it all the for when he took the kids into town on fun days, she rolled her eyes in an honest whine, remembering how attractive his drone was. She tilted her head at him.

"Wow, I wonder what people think when they see you wear that." She giggled as he looked to her and raised a brow.

"Is it unappealing to Humans?"

"No-hoho, no." She waved her hand side-to-side reassuringly. "It's actually very nice."

"Thank you," Said the slightly-older-than-middle-aged man. A messy, incredibly short faux hawk adorned the top of his head, thick and wide-half burns lined the upper back of his jaw, and stern brows fell over a thick ridge. He didn't take the form of some young man, nor an old one either. Something in between.  
>A thin line of five o'clock shadow ran along his chin to the base of his jaw, two small, darker, nicks of facial bristle angled from the front of his chin and under his pale, moderate bottom lip. His ears, rather sizable, took the place of the two antennae that was usually splayed from the side of his head. His facial structure was raw, real, and intelligent. High-set cheek bones, a slight indentation in the flesh of his cheeks, barely noticeable creases around the edges of his mouth along with a faint dimpling forming in the grooves between the start of his cheeks and the end of his chin every time he moved his mouth. His chin protruded vaguely, not entirely rounded with a small cleft in the center, hidden beneath his light beard. Faint creases in his brow line gave him the look of a wise man, natural folds between his brows faded into a broad straight nose with a rounded end and moderate sized nostrils. His eyes however hadn't changed shape, still sharp, and held a warrior-like integrity, yet reserved with soft liquid blue irises like the waters of the Bahamas. She then noticed how unusually large his irises were, one couldn't tell from a distance, but if they looked hard enough, they splayed a little wider than normal. Flecks of aqua danced within them every time they shifted about to look at their surroundings.<p>

As for his wardrobe, it didn't seem like something he'd choose to wear, not with his -suddenly- withdrawn personality. A plainer-than-plain white T-shirt that sat slightly baggy on his toned build, strapping dark red belt licked in subtle yellow and orange flames with the Autobot emblem as the buckle. And lastly dark-wash boot cut jeans over a pair of dark gray round-toed military style boots.

She leaned back in her seat, smiling and resisting a laugh. "You dress like a teenager."

"It is an attempt to fit amongst the other citizens on Earth. Seems although that I haven't mastered it yet." He said, not a hint of vulgarity in his voice.

"No, it's not that. You just don't seem the type to wear a flaming belt." She laughed again, peeping as they went over a steep jump in the gravel once he left the smooth pavement and headed for a rocky outcropping. Then, a white car with a build from the 90's was ahead, rushing for the base at a curious speed. "I like it though. It's not all flashy and nonsense… Uh, hey, there's another car ahead of us. Somebody new?"

He shook his head. "It is June Darby, Jack Darby's mother, he is the eldest of the three children whom we've befriended. He is either off of work early, or something has disturbed her peace."

"Rad said something about a dark-haired boy driving an Autobot named Arcee. That wouldn't happen to be him would it?"

"Correct…" He trailed off as they both noticed her erratic driving, at first thinking it was the ground she was on, until her car slowed, and Alexis braced as Optimus sped forward, now leaning off his seat with brows crinkled into a frown of trepidation.

"Something's the matter here…" Alexis already was already gripping the door handle on her side, opening it the moment he slowed.

"Alexis, be careful!" He warned, but she'd already leapt out, leaving him to screech to a halt and transform. It wasn't like him to do such out in the open, but the portion of the highway carried so little traffic, he would just have to remain vigilant. It only took two hardy steps forward to bring himself beside Alexis, reaching down when she had trouble opening the car's door, possibly locked. Carefully, he popped the glass of the window, yanking off the door with a finger in one fluent motion. A plow of smoke billowed from the inside of the vehicle, to which Alexis disappeared into and Optimus fanned away. He kneeled, taking the woman into his hand when Alexis found her too heavy to haul all the way from the vehicle.

"She's hurt bad, the car seems like it was damaged from the inside-" Alexis froze, frowning into the hidden interior of the car when she noticed a faint hissing sound. Her eyes then bulged, Optimus already in the moment of moving away from the vehicle, gather her as well and turning his back as the boxy white vehicle detonated. Alexis resisted the urge to scream as the loud sound frightened her, but clung to his servo while he lifted them both away from the flames slithering around the blown windows of the car.

"What was the cause of this?" Optimus growled down at the quickly withering vehicle, then darting his attention to June who lay limp in his palm. His mouth pulled back into a tightened frown, shocked at her condition. Her work clothes sat frayed on her body, though only evident on her arms and knees, a small gash that could've signified a concussion across the left side of her forehead. Blood on her fingers may have hidden smaller cuts and bruises, a struggle to escape. Alexis leapt from one hand to the other, dropping to her knees and lifting her head into her lap to support it.

"More importantly, what attacked her? Decepticons maybe?" Alexis lifted her head over her shoulder at him, which he nodded in return.

"It is open to assumption," He resisted the urge to run, knowing it'd be rough for the two Humans, remembering their frailty, especially with injuries considered severe. "Rachet is our only means of suitable medical attention for the moment, he will be able to stabilize her in the mean time until she can be properly transported to the nearest medical facility."

Alexis nodded, about to say something when something struck her as odd. Optimus voice had always held a serious tone in situations like this, although this time it held an edge to it that she'd not heard before. Urgency to get her help? Irritation that friends had been nearly killed? Could have been both. Unsure of what to make of it, Alexis lowered her eyes to the black-haired woman, pulling her hair from her face with a saddened sigh. She was breathing, rapidly, but it wasn't faint and that was both good, and bad.

"Rachet," He pressed a hand to the side of his head. "Prepare your medical wing immediately, June has been severely injured!"

_"What? Er- Right away Optimus! Is there no way to send her to a hospital in time?"_

"The incident occurred outside the base perimeter within her vehicle, time has dwindled too little to turn back now."

_"Right, preparation under way."_

"Optimus? What happened?" Arcee grimaced at the Autobot leader who had entered the base with a faint jog, surprised he did not answer her on spot and instead A-lined it for Rachet who stood next to a bed. She then spotted a familiar pair of Sea Foam Green scrubs peeking from between his fingers. "Oh no… June…" She instantly thought on Jack's reaction. "I need to tell Jack, no, gotta go get him." Arcee hadn't noticed Alexis as she spun about in a way that almost threw her off balance, leaping for the ground and hitting it as a crotch-rocket that Rad had described. It was only seconds later that she was gone.

"It is conceivably the work of the Decepticons. They are aware of June's existence, surely through Airachnid." Optimus said darkly to the medical officer, handing her off to an already awaiting palm where Rachet lowered her bedside.

"Oh man…" Bulkhead muttered quietly, pressing a hand to his head with an At-A-Loss expression. "One bad thing after another around here."

"Bulkhead, Dredge, Coldwave, Wavebuster, Figure." Optimus jabbed a finger at the five. "Drive to into town, scout the area, report back anything out of the ordinary. Bulkhead, I want you to investigate the Darby residence externally. The day is still early, the children will not be free to roam until the end of their daily semester." He then lowered Alexis to the floor, who waved at the remain Autbots shyly.

"Sir, yes sir." Coldwave, Figure, and Dredge nodded, all exchanging glances to each other, turning as the ground bridge opened thanks to Wavebuster at the controls. Dredge approached it, folding down into the slick and devious classic automotive where as the others followed suit, rolling through the glowing multi-colored vortex.

"Right." Bulkhead paused, casting a woeful glance at the woman passed out on the medical bed. "Hang in there, Ms. Darby." He dropped into his vehicle mode, quickly followed by Coldwave and Wavebuster as they took the longer route, intent on scattering ways to search the city grounds.

It was hours before June awoke, finding a fretting Jack at her bedside gripping her hand delicately, Miko and Rafael had joined him, all looking her over with concern. Almost out of her vision, a mysterious woman with reddish brown hair sat nearby, nodding to her gently with a grieved expression. Things were quiet, and she found it hard to talk when he asked what happened, deciding to give up on trying. Rachet reassured him that she would recover and that her injuries were minor, smoke-inhalation being the cause of her trouble vocalizing and difficulty breathing. She laid her head back, surprised to find Optimus blue optics staring down at her unwaveringly from above, making her smile in a shrimpy manner. He was settled atop a portion of unused equipment, legs partially in splayed with the shift of his weight forward, elbows resting on his knee joints. He was always intimidating, even for the gentle giant he was.

'Hi,' she mouthed to him, watching him nod with no change in expression, then repeated the mouth movement to her son. Jack smiled harrowingly, nodding in return.

"I came as soon Arcee called me and picked me up, she told me you were hurt, but she didn't know it was this bad…"

"I…" She croaked underneath her oxygen mask, shaking her head with a wince. Her throat burned furiously at the irritation caused by the smoke in her car.

"Easy mom," Jack rested a warm palm against her forearm. "Optimus sent out Bulkhead and a few others to go check things out. One question, just nod or shake your head. Was it 'Cons who did this?"

She shook her head 'no', then, she shrugged. She was unsure. The Transformers who overlooked her all exchanged a mixture of surprised and suspicious glances.

"As I feared…" Rachet crossed his arms, lowering his optics to the floor.

"Fea'hd wut mate?" Rolltide tilted his head.

"Her injuries she sustained are not of Cybertronian weapon origin, nor are they Human. Least, not from any Human weapon I've come to catalog in the database, and for safety reasons to our kind, I have documented many. My only suspicious is this is the work of MECH." He glanced up at the red reptilian Autobot.

"Oo's Mech?" Rolltide glanced about at the others who all shrugged.

"Beat's me, love." Jakknife piped up.

"If MECH's after her again, they are so done for." Jack snarled, slamming against the bedside railing.

"MECH?" Alexis spoke up, causing the children to look to her. She'd already explained her relationship with the Autobots to them.

"They're some ca-razy organization who wants to make things, like, better for Human kind or some kinda mojo. Or so they say, but they're dead set on getting a hold of Transformer technology and use it for evil. They even managed to capture a 'Con." Miko explained with her fidgety movements.

"Earlier they captured Jack's mom as leverage. We got lucky, but, I'm pretty sure that wasn't their last attempt." Raf added.

"Great…" Alexis sighed with the shake of her head. "It's best we don't evolve Rad and Carlos then. So they don't end up targeted. I better lie low too…"

Jack nodded in agreement. "We all should… I'll need to call the hospital, tell them mom's out of work. Heck, she may need to go there for treatment if it gets out of hand. Arcee and I caught up with Bulkhead on his way back to base, our house wasn't totaled, but it got ransacked, probably by teenagers… But I don't know. Until mom can speak and walk around, I think it's best we take her somewhere inconspicuous."

"Without knowing the full scale of what exactly has happened, and with her condition, I think your mother should reside here, at base, Jack." Rachet said softly. "A trip to the hospital should be a last resort should she fall into a state of peril beyond my medical expertise, least to acknowledge it would be difficult to explain her condition to the other medical caregivers who'll be treating her, the last thing we need is a possible agent in disguise for an attempted assassination."

Optimus stood, nodding as he carefully navigated around the cluster of Humans on the floor. "That is if even this assault had indeed transpired under the motives of MECH… However I agree with my old friend, that your mother may stay here until our suspicions are clear and a safe-zone has been established. Agent Fowler will need to be notified of these proceedings."

"That guy is never about to answer his phone, though." Jack's shoulders slouched as he watched the large Transformer stride for the communications center.

"Nevertheless, an attempt at contacting him should be made."

"I know someone who might be able to help, but I haven't seen him in years…" Alexis thought aloud.

"Who?" Jack looked over his shoulder at the older woman.

"His name is Chris Clardane Dobson, we all call him 'CD'. He was a former Military Investigator, well, he was still on the job when I met him. He knows people on the inside that can clear things without exposing subjects to the public for media to get a hold of and causing pandemonium. He helped me in our excursion to Africa to try out my new water filter machines as a body guard." She nodded more to herself than anyone else. "As of late he's gone into terrorist cases and dropped the drug warlord investigation act."

"That's all well and good, Alexis, but I highly doubt this is the work of a Human terrorist or a gruesome drug criminal." Rachet argued.

"Just hear me out," Alexis cut in. "He also investigate paranormal cases, and I'm not talking ghosts and spirits and all that nonsense either, I mean underground operation spooks."

"Lucky…" Miko mumbled.

Alexis shook her head, serious. "He's lost a lot of friends in that line of work. I'll see if I can call my business tonight, have a personal assistant get a hold of his personal number for me. He may know of this MECH organization you guys are talking about, and maybe a connection to Mr. Fowler."

Jack, looking very taken aback at just how much power the new woman held, shrugged as he looked to everybody as if he'd needed their permission to agree with her. "I say we go for it. Find out what's goin' on around here, and who hurt my mom…" He dropped his head back to her, finding that she'd fallen into a peaceful rest, her breathing steady.

Behind them, Optimus shoulders slumped noticeably when he received Fowler's voicemail recording for the third time, turning back to the others. "It appears he is not near his communication device, or it is disabled."

"Again." Bulkhead swore. "The jerk probably doesn't even have it on, since it just jumped for his recording over and over."

"Great." Jack sighed sarcastically, walking his mother's bed into a more secluded corner away from the noise and into a warmer part of the base, smiling as Raf's short arms attempted to pull the bed sheet over her shoulders better, aiding him slightly and giving the 12 year old a thankful smile.

Alexis smiled at them sadly, recalling the time where her mother sat in a similar position after she was injured in a car accident on her way home from work. She gandered about the assortment of Autobots now, amazed at how abundant their aid against the Decepticons had become. Surely they had this in the bag. Her eyes traveled to their leader, yet he didn't seem focused on any of the other's of his kind, or anything for that matter. She followed his gaze and found him staring at… Jack? Him and his mother? The Autobot leader's face sagged into a look of regret or mourning, not entirely confusing to her though. He could've been filled with guilt for failing to protect them, least he be reminded he couldn't do everything and that life had it's cruel twists of fate. As she continued to watch him it slowly dawned that he wasn't staring at Jack, but his gaze was more-or-less directed at his mother. uncertain, she stepped forward to address him softly.

"Optimus?"

He was averse to relinquishing his observation of June, angle his head down to her for the moment, letting her know he was listening. "Mmm?"

"I hope you're not taking this on your shoulders as something you did. Because it wasn't, so don't even begin to _think_that. We all know how it feels to watch someone we care for getting hurt and we're unable to do anything about it… But please, don't feel guilty about this. A cruel reminder, but you can't do everything, it's basically impossible. I learned that the hard way, when my mother got hurt." She tried to give him her best kind-hearted smile, yet, like Rad said, he did not smile in turn for the attempted comfort. Instead, he looked to the floor, blinking once. Alexis wondered what was running through his mind at that moment, and quietly, he departed for a unknown location inside the base.

"Optimus?" Acree watched him leave, raising a brow slowly. "Something's bothering his processors, a lot."

"I agree with Arcee. It isn't like him to just, depart, without giving the remainder of us orders." Rachet commented from over a projector that was giving him monitoring read-outs of June's vitals.

Rolltide huffed, his body clacking softly waiting for Optimus to be long out of receptor-shot. "Ah think the Prime's got a soft spot fer Jack's mumsy." He scratched at his neck segments like a dog with his hand for a brief moment, suddenly sounding more Scottish than a New Zealander.

Jack furrowed his brows at the red Autobot, yet he remained quiet. Technically, it wasn't his business what relationship his mother involved herself in, even if it was with a giant… Robot… Alien. Creepy. He shook with his head with a subtle exhale. Whatever the case, he'd feel safer having Optimus Prime as a stepfather than anyone else right now, should that outcome be it.. Highly, _friggin'_, unlikely, but…. He couldn't help but smile at the comical image of Optimus sitting at their dining table reading the newspaper in a full business suit, tie and all. A steaming cup of Joe beside him. While his mother handed off a plate of waffles to him for breakfast with one of her witty smiles, like some old comic. He nearly scoffed a laugh at it, though it was a highly inappropriate time for such a thing.

Arcee looked to Rolltide, crossing her arms as she speculated the subject with out-propped hips. She wasn't jealous, just shocked he'd even say such a thing. "You don't really think that, do you? I mean, I don't think I've ever seen Optimus love somebody or even feel something other than kinship for them."

"Ah Arcee. Yuh haven't knoon Prime as long as ah have." Rolltide grinned at her crookedly. "'Eh' used to have a beautiful ladeh name Elita-One. The girl suffered a horrid fate, turned into a monster she did. I dunno about any other women in Prime's past, tis not mah business." He shrugged it off casually. "All I know is the guy's not become involved, so far as ah know, with anyone else after what happen 'ta Elita. If the Big Man's got the love-dovies for miss Darby, tis nobody's business but theirs an so be it. Doesn't change who he is. Come to think about it, everybody around 'er calls Ms. Darby, just 'at. Ms. Darby. He seems tah be the only one to get on a first name basis with that ladeh and calls 'er June. Kinda odd dudn't one think?"

"Personally I find it preposterous," Rachet gripped. "Even in the most plain mathematical outcome, a relationship between our species is purely, physically, and emotionally unfathomable."

"Jealous the doctor dinnae get himself a nurse?" Rolltide sniped, causing the medic to growl and he chuckled with a wheeze.

"No!" He riposte puerilely.

"Yeah Rachet. Love or crushes can't be explained with all that math and statistical mumbo-jumbo!" Miko said with a grin from over Bulkhead's foot, tapping her hand against it intuitively to an offbeat rhythm.

Rachet shook his head. "I will still subscribe to holding my doubts that Optimus… What is the Human saying? … Has "Fallen head over heels", for a biological sentient being comprised of an organic cellular structure."

Alexis shared a chuckle with a few of the Transformers, she then laid eyes on Rolltide, clearing her throat to which he dropped his head down to her and got to one knee.

"Can ah help you, doll?" He chuckled at her perplexed expression.

"I was wondering, if you could give me a lift back to my hotel, I came here in Optimus, and I left my rental vehicle in some strange ally way. I'd like to get to work on contacting Dobson, and maybe get something on a roll here." She smiled sheepishly.

"I think tha' sounds like fun!"

She stepped aside as he writhed about in descent to become the fire red Dodge Viper he'd arrived as. The other two children, particularly Miko, watched in awe of the rolling and curvy sports car. Going unnoticed, Bulkhead growling quietly.

"Any of you want a ride? If not, me 'an the ladeh here are headin' to 'er hotel fer the night." He laughed as his carriage rocked now that Alexis was inside, having smacked his steering wheel for the embarrassing comment. Though it was all in good humor and she smiled anyway.

Miko glanced to Bulkhead who's head was turned away as if in shame, before she smiled. "Nawh, I think I like my big powerful tank over here better than some sissy richy's sports car."

"Eh?" Rolltide rumbled, chortling quietly soon afterward. "See Bulkhead? Tha' little one there's just evil I tell ya. Alright then, Fritzar rollin' out~!" Careful not to rev his engine on the behalf of June, he turned to take a wide birth around the standing occupants, round the rocky bend in the base entry.

"Fritzar?" Miko cast a weird-out expression to no one in particular.

"He got the name for his Human caretaker in New Zealand. Rolltide used to be a Decepticon." Said Arcee, sitting in the spot where Optimus was, she smiled softly at the quiet gasps of the children, besides Jack who only looked up with wide eyes. "It took me years, to place some kind of trust in him… It's not everyday we get approach by a Decepticon who wants to change causes. Even if he seemed genuinely disgusted by the Decepticons anymore, Rolltide once fought against us, and I got a taste of what he can dish out. Lemme just say, it's not easy to defeat him. Hundreds of thousands of times his former comrades tried to jinx him into joining them again, knowing they'd lost one of their best, yet he remained steadfast, dropped complete faith in us to come to his aid if need be, and even saved my life here and there. Rolltide is one heck of a fighter, even if he doesn't specialize in artillery warfare. He's nearly as old as Optimus Prime himself, and his combat skills are nearly as polished. Rolltide has offline many a Decepticon in his time, most notoriously, he downed Rumble, and nearly Soundwave himself. Those two always traveled as a sadistic partnership and caused us Autobots quit a bit of grief."

"I wish I could'a seen that action!" Miko fisted her hands together, excitable grin on her face.

Arcee chuckled quietly. "He and Soundwave have a score to settle…" Her brows flew up, impromptu to the sound of the communication's line going off. It automatically opened to Fowler's face.

"Three calls? It better be urgent."

"Jack's mom was attacked, she was rushing on her way here, probably to tell us. Her car was trashed, it exploded just after Optimus helped pull her from the wreckage with a Human named Alexis Ti Dang." Arcee began. "She's in stable condition here at base, but we've decided to keep her here, until we find out the culprit."

Fowler looked startled, then exasperated. "Why it's gotta be the Decepticon's work then! After all, Ms. Eight Legs did catch her before."

Arcee shook her head. "Mm-mm. She said it wasn't a 'Con job. We suspect it's MECH up to their dirty tricks again, not astonishing considering they've been quiet all this time, it was only a question of 'When?' until they surfaced."

"They've not been seen since the capture of that Big-Bahookuh-Con…" He rubbed his jaw, perplexed. "I've got agents on stand-by, we'll get to the bottom of this, and fast." He looked ahead to something off screen, stopping. "I gotta go." He then hastily cut the feed, leaving everyone wondering what just happened.

"I hope whoever it is, that did this to Ms. Darby, didn't do it to Agent Fowler too…" Rafael commented worriedly.

"Telling from those last seconds I got of his face, I don't think so. It was someone important though." Arcee speculated.


	5. Party Rock Anthem

For once, Arcee found herself bored. Beyond it, actually.

She felt catatonic.

Decepticon activity was on an all new low, which had set everybody on a sense of exhausting unease. She examined the portion of her forearm that she'd just finished polishing to pass the time, glancing at the clock that sat high above the main control panel. Another hour until she was able to leave the confines of the base and pick up Jack off work. Not long after the storm subsided, the children gone home all except Jack who otherwise had nowhere to go. Optimus had laid down a temporary custom that some had reluctantly agreed to. Her among them. They were unable to visit their Human companions until the time to pick them up was scheduled.

Today, however, she and Bulkhead would have had to depart together in order to aid Jack in gathering what he could from his dismantled home. Overall the base remained empty, only Figure, Jakknife, Bulkhead, and herself resided to keep watch. Optimus had departed with Rachet long ago in the day, the Prime intent on finding June's attacker with a whole new passion. While he remained professional about the entire situation, anybody with a decent train of thought could very well see that he was disturbed by her state of well being, which was the most emotion she'd seen him show in a long while. The man hardly shed a smile anymore. Twenty-four years ago he was so much more, happier. As she turned her head to inspect the sleeping June Darby who remained unmoving on her hospital berth, Rolltide's words began to ring out in her head, and the more she traced Optimus's reaction to the whole thing, the more she began to believe his otherwise strange observation.

She lifted her head at the subtle bangs coming from within the base's sparring hall, a place for the Autobots to hone their skills. Nothing better could be done at the time. She smiled at Figure's screaming laughter, assuming he'd lost again to Jakknife's ruthless tickling methods to the poor youngster Autobot recruit. His abdominal wiring particular sensitive when it was exposed during his battle alt-mode.

"Arcee?" Bulkhead groaned from the shaded corner near Rachet's medical tools, having stirred from the downtime he decided to recharge. "Is it time to go pick up Jack and Miko yet?"

"Not yet, Bulk." She craned her head back at him, smiling half-heartedly. "We'll head out in another thirty minute drop."

The green hulking robot groaned. He'd grown lonely in this isolation, making her chuckle. While it too annoyed her to no end that she couldn't be with her Human companion, Optimus made it clear that he wasn't going to risk another engaging injury on Humankind, should the Decepticons be the cause of everything. Even Fowler remained on the fence about keeping June in their company, threatening to remove the children from their custody. Optimus had near-pleaded not to take the children from them, all of them did, Coldwave being the exception. It took deep persuasion, but eventually Fowler succumbed to the Autobots requests, reminding them in his condescending tone that if another thing happened to them, he'd refuse to let it slide. She toyed with her sharp servo digits, raising a brow at the recollection of Fowler's reaction to Ms. Darby's haggard appearance.

_Looks like Optimus has got some competition on his servos..._

"Ah you poor lad~" Jakknife slapped Figure's armored back as they rounded the corner of the gravelly hall, chuckling when he sulked away from her. Embarrassed he'd been tickled into submission again. "Ya be lucky the 'Cons don't find that little sweet spot hm?" She then laughed softly, slouching against the entry way of the hall to look over the damaged she'd been dealt. "Not bad, little one, you got seven scratches that I can count on meh. Hnnnhmhmhmhm!"

Figure withheld a snort. "Oh, shut up Dove!" He then visibly flinched when she waggled a digit at him that held no threat. Making her laugh into her palm again.

"You two are awful." Arcee remarked.

"That we be, but he'll get used to it." Jakknife tittered, looking up to the communications board. "Nothing, huh?"

"No, it's been dead quiet, at least it gave me time to reflect. Which I'll be doing a lot of, I'm sure." She rolled her blue optics.

"Aye. Why don't you all get a goin' then? It'll be 20 minutes before the children get out if you leave now. Ten if ya don't hurry." Dove nodded, rotating a stiff cuff. "Optimus said he'd be back ba'fore the next round of storms. Tis been our saving grace methinks. Too wet for the Decepticons to be loose on the city."

"True. Jack's called me twice today to check his mother's condition."

"He has...?"

June's soft croak caught the attention of everyone, making Arcee whirl around to her. The woman was sitting up, after two days rest. Humans _were_ truly resilient.

"Uh, Ms. Darby." Arcee kneeled. "Take it easy, I'm going to go pick him up with Bulkhead right now. He's going to gather what supplies he can from the house and gauge the losses. It's been under police protection till now, it'll continue to be thanks to Agent Fowler."

"He's so nice..." June rubbed an eye groggily, her voice wavering, wincing when she found her lid was bruised. She hissed. "Ouch!"

"Yeah, tone it down..." Arcee hushed her with a hand. "Figure and Jakknife will watch you. Call if you need _anything_." She stood, nodding at the woman who smiled up at her meekly.

**TRANSFORMERS**

Carmina "Ego" Burana slapped her hand subtly to no tune in particular while she sat idle in the hotel lounge. Cheeks inflated and lips pursed, she and her companion beside her had decided the use of crude flatulent sounds would amuse them for the past time, despite the ugly stares of others occupying the bay. Most snobbishly attired.

The slightly younger woman was definitely the red apple among the green. Not necessarily red, no, but it was the closest example to give. Her obnoxiously splattered handkerchief material dress beamed the mix of oranges and blues and purples, black hair pulled back into a curly mess and ridiculous rave goggles sprouted like horns from her head. The lenses far too large to wear on her face. Overall, she looked like an idiot to the eyes of the reasonably sane or incredibly up-tight. She wore navy colored tights beneath, disappearing into the outlandish blue and orange checkered knee-high Doc-Martin's boots. Lani Acaster, a woman she could've deemed her slightly younger sister, wore a far more refined wardrobe.

A solid and otherwise boring black shirt, underneath her gray and silver horizontal wide-stripe quilted coat, dark wash blue jeans sat baggy on her waist for traveling comfort and black and white Puma flats closed out her self-expression. The only source of color Carmina could address was her streaks of faded forest green the poked through her dark chocolate bangs. They were as green as her eyes. A much more stark contrast compared to Carmina's sandy irises.

While both maintained their impatient behavior with vigor, truth be told they were getting tired and found no other source of entertainment to keep them awake. Honest sleep took care of their excessive traveling exhaustions, but nothing was more tiresome then waiting for someone. Carmina had traveled from Spain. And Lani, from Dublin. Curiously, neither held their birth-places respected accents. Both had Americanized parents, which was deemed the source for their plain "American Girl" tongues.

"You two look like a bored couple of clowns." Alexis admired with a smile from behind them, starting them.

"Shit Alexis, is that really needed?" Carmina hissed at the older woman.

"Well I had to wake you two up didn't I?" Alexis chuckled, watching from her spot on the tiled hotel floor as her distant childhood friends rounded the deep red couch to greet her warmly. She returned their death-grip hugs, exchanging elated smiles and subtle chuckles all around. "Lets get this day under way."

**TRANSFORMERS**

"Lani, you don't want us to drop you off at the mall?" Furtively, Carmina exchanged disappointed glances with Alexis in the front seat, then twisted her gaze over her shoulder to look at the slightly shorter and far more subdued of the three. Her hair whipped around her face wildly, all three deciding to carpool in Alexis' rental jeep, which she'd come to love.

"Nah... Well, there was that one store..." She bit her lower lip, tucking further into her swollen goose-down filled jacket. Lani had always been incredibly withdrawn, so far that Alexis could remember. Yet when she did come out, she was hilarious. Both she and Carmina being exchange students during her school years so long ago, having met Alexis, Rad, and Carlos within that year, almost the same day they arrived.

"See? We'll be back in 15 minutes if you just want to get dropped off. I gotta run Carmina over to the pharmacy anyway." Alexis tried not to urge, glancing at the radio clock.

Unspoken to Lani, she had exposed Carmina to the Transformers long ago. As with most Human/Transformer run-ins, it was an accident when Sureshock had slipped into her house looking for something to eat. The meeting couldn't have been more catastrophic, albeit being brief. Carmina eventually calmed, yet remained sickeningly wary of the Human sized robot for a number of weeks. As Alexis recalled, it was a month before she'd even began to feel remotely comfortable with her in the room. She'd been the only one she was exposed to, and Alexis felt it was alright for her to meet another. She trusted it to be Starscream. Personally he wouldn't be all that thrilled, that was clear. Over and over she'd speculated this was a horrible idea considering what happened to Jack's mother, yet several times she reassured herself that he would keep them safe. While Alexis herself rightfully feared the Decepticons, and respected them for the powerful creatures they were. Starscream was truly someone she felt she could lay her trust upon. Infact, she was supposed to drop of Lani - who remained blissfully unaware of the Transformers - at the mall to occupy her until she was finished with her introductions just to get Carmina's sudden determination to see a bigger robot that Sureshock out of the way.

Lani hummed to her iPod, partially in thought. "Alright." She quipped.

It felt as if a thousand superheated pounds had been lifted off both their shoulders when she agreed. Refusing to show their relief - not to abandon their friend, but to keep her out of harm's way - Alexis nodded, pressing onward into traffic all the while keeping the mall in her sights. "We'll be there in five minutes, gather your stuff." She flicked her eyes back at Lani who was already in the process of gather her oversized leather shoulder bag. "You need anything extra?"

"Not that I can think of, I'll call you if I do though." She said softly, always retracted in a way that made Alexis sad. The woman was never really happy, too shy to expose what she wanted and what she liked to others, even her own parents. Her clothes were always dark, not wanting to allow herself or her shapely figure to be noticed. She'd not been in a relationship before either, not that Alexis could recall.

Just as she had predicted, they arrived within a few minutes to the mall. Finding the place actually more populated than what she guessed to be half the town. A joke she could play off from Rad's description of the city.

"Good heavens, it's actually packed." Carmina said in a sing-song voice, giggling to nobody in particular.

"No kidding..." Alexis commented, pleased to find that it wouldn't be so lonesome for quiet little Lani. She navigated the parking lot, frowning at a few foolish drivers that abruptly cut her off just to get in or out.

"We're all in the same mess, asshole!" Carmina screeched unceremoniously at the passerby who honked at the three. The driver of the white mini-van only looked at her like she had rabies.

"Carmina, really?" Alexis sighed, watching her slump back in her seat after having spent her energy yelling out the window.

"What?" The girl snapped, flustered. "The guy was a dick. End of ze story." She said with a sudden German accent, crossing her arms.

Alexis could only roll her eyes.

**TRANSFORMERS**

"So, how tall is this guy of yours?" Carmina casually lobbed a ball of gum into her mouth, offering one to Alexis who turned it down. She'd blushed at Carmina's remark of 'guy of yours', the girl hadn't a clue how right she was.

"He's big, I'd say 25 feet tall?" Alexis worded it carefully, knowing Carmina had yet to fully grasp the concept of being around other-worldly robots. Even now she appeared to be growing ill when Alexis looked over to her.

"Twenty-five-FU-" She coughed, stopping to stare ahead at Alexis who continued a few more paces. "That's big."

"There are bigger ones, but let's take it slow, huh?" Alexis managed a soft smile and held out a hand to the reluctant woman.

"Yeah... That's the way to think it." Carmina shakily reassured herself, taking and gripping Alexis' hand to the point where it was turning purple, making the older woman wince.

She pointed ahead to a secluded driveway that wrapped around the latter half of the mall. "He should be waiting there." She noticed Carmina had tucked away behind her, almost intergraded into her jacket. "Just take it easy, it's Starscream we're going to meet... I think."

"'You think?' That's so compelling." Carmina commented silently, getting prepared to face death once they entered the shade of the alley. Alexis blinked.

Starscream wasn't present, only a red Aston Martin that rolled forward to meet them once they entered view. Initially freaking Carmina who could only manage a croak.

"Is that him?" She hissed in Alexis' ear, making the girl tuck her ear to her shoulder as it ticked her canal.

"No, no... It's Knock Out." She smiled at the sport's car softly once it dawned on her that it was the same deep luscious red that the medical Decepticon bore. There was no visible Decepticon logo from her observation of the front, yet there was no visible driver either. She let a soft chuckle, stepping forward to usher Carmina closer, only to get yanked back when the girl refused to budge. Leaving the girl to her own devices, Alexis managed to get her hand unglued, walking around the side of the car and peering into the driverless window. "You came to pick us up? Where's Starscream?"

"He's... Preoccupied." The Decepticon didn't sound too jest. "He ordered for me to give you ladies a lift."

Alexis tittered under her breath. He made it obvious that he held a distaste for having a Human in his interior when it wasn't necessary. "Don't worry, we'll be courteous about your interior."

"Glad to hear it." He grumbled. "He said only you and a guest...?" He then piped in curiosity.

"Yes, why?" Alexis said, befuddled.

"Then is she an accidental witness?" The car revved forward, causing Alexis to whirl around and literally slap a hand to her face moments later with a gasp. There at the mouth of the alley stood Lani, frozen just as Carmina was at the sight of the driverless car. Mouth agape, and finger pointing shakily at the vehicle.

"Lani, take it easy," Alexis started. She prepared to tackle her friend should she had fled, yet before she could motion for her to approach, the girl had already began to close the gap between them with almost uncertain fearlessness. "Lani...?"

"It... Doesn't have a driver." Lani released a sharp exhale, nearly choking as she swallowed with the action. Her skin had gone white, and her eyes remained unblinking, locking onto the vehicle and refusing to let it slip her stare. She licked her lips, her mouth feeling instantly dry.

"No, _he_ doesn't." Alexis corrected quietly, finally getting her attention. "His name, is Knock Out."

"Is it-Er, he, some kind of," Lani said quietly, lost for words. "Some kind of super car?"

"No, I'll explain to you both, if you get in."

Carmina instantly shook her head. "And why in Sam Hell would I want to do that? He's a machine."

"Hey," Knock Out addressed her brusquely. "Watch it."

Ego visibly shuddered.

"Can I touch him...?" Lani had brought shock to everyone with those words, even Knock Out's engine had skipped, though none of the girls had noticed.

"It's up to him, don't ask me." Alexis finally broke the silence when she saw the girl become more unsettled than she already was. She backed away even though there was enough room for her, holding her hand aloft towards the Aston Martin. "Go on, I promise he won't hurt you..."

"Filling her with false hopes now, fleshy?" Knock Out sneered, redirecting his headlights like eyes at the girl who approached with a stiff figure.

"Mr..." She trailed off.

"Knock Out." Alexis spoke up quickly.

"Mr, Knock Out." The 22 year old out said quietly, mostly to herself. "May I touch you? I promise, not to damage your paint." She said, her voice an audible whisper.

"Just get your jollies and get in, I tire of these games." Knock Out said belittlingly, gently revving the engine to induce a sense of urgency among the women.

"Thank you."

In reality, Lani couldn't have felt more fear, more angst, more just pure, utter, self stupidity for talking to a _talking_ car. She'd been aware of the development of internal vehicular A.I's, but not this extent of intelligence. Secretively, Lani had been fascinated with technology, feeling retracted and betrayed when her parents banished such exploration potential she held, as a scientist of the future. Lani was smart as whip, and when she wanted to be, fearless. Much of her had yet to be exposed to her other friends, who'd always gotten the impression she was nothing more than a sad-faced girl with a warm heart. Even now, as she placed her palm over the front of the smooth and chilly hood of the car, the cogs in her brain were now rolling with steam. Trying to dismantle the car with her eyes, all attempts to discover how exactly this big red guy worked.

"...You done?" Knock Out snapped her from her stasis. "Because it's creeping me out."

"Sorry, I was thinking." Lani mumbled like a child scolded, she yanked her hand way like he was a dog prepared to bite. "I'm ready..." She glanced to Alexis as if requiring permission, to which the reddish haired brunette shrugged and gestured to the car. A smile of pride on her face that was praise for Lani.

Carmina on the other hand, stood where she first planted herself, repeating under her breath that she could overcome this and she'd seen one before.

"Primus, about time."

A faint twinkle entered Lani's eyes when he flared his doors to allow them entry. "Move it!" He snapped, startling them into motion when they gawked further.

Alexis was the first to enter, the discomfort in her bowels subsiding only for a moment. She could only think of the rebuttal had Optimus found out about this 'friendship' she was developing with one of the most lethal forces in the galaxy, and she'd have to explain that to the other two before they decided to allow themselves an attachment. That was a common issue among Humanity, they somehow got themselves foolishly attached to creatures that weren't Human. She only told herself that she wasn't allowing herself to become a friend of a killer. Decepticons did not regard Humans for any of their worth as living creatures, many a time had she seem them discard Humans ruthlessly, leaving nothing. Especially in the attack of New Jersey on the news, Detroit and _Los Angeles_... How could she have forgotten that devastating event? The only reason Knock Out didn't turn them to dust was that it was ordered on Starscream's part not to touch them. He was the red sport's commanding officer after all.

Lani slid into the backseat with care, dusting her shoes by clacking them together outside and rotating her body to fully adjust herself properly. The only one that remained was Carmina, who refused for several seconds more.

"I guess she's staying behind." Knock Out said casually, closing the driver and back doors, leaving the passenger ajar for a few moments more. If his face were visible, Alexis was sure he'd be smirking while Carmina scrambled to enter before he locked her out.

"Seatbelts, I don't want you spattered all over my interior." Knock Out said with a half-sigh, rolling out of the alley way and into the parking lot once more, slipping through the gandering Human eyes that admired him, on to the main road.

"Just don't drive like an insane person and we'll be fine." Alexis said sourly, making him snicker.

"But I simply can't help myself~" He said, darting between cars once he found the gap open enough to do so, aking the girls cry out in panic each time, which amused him greatly.

"You're a jerk!" Carmina blurted, gripping the sides of her seat for dear life.

"Honey, you're dealing with an evil alien robot, it comes with the job description."

Lani's eyes widened. "A, robot? Alexis..." She turned to her friend with a face like she was about to expel her lunch all over his seat.

Alexis squirmed where she sat, twisting around to look at her before she got hysterical. "I'll explain.. Lani... Right now, it's not the best of times. I'd rather they do the explaining though..." She grunted when Knock Out sharply darted to the right, barely missing a red. "Jesus, Knock Out! Will you dish out some decency here?" She yelled as he only laughed insanely in response, ducking down as he broken through a line of traffic and leapt off the highway at blind speed down the shoulder, turning and heading for a more desolate portion, the canyons.

_Okay, he's having WAY too much fun..._

Carmina's shrieking was deafening and scrambling everybody's source of sound intake.

"Hey, shut up!" Knock Out managed to yell, slamming his breaks to let the girl know he meant it. She did as she was told once the inertia of the car slowed.

Alexis uncovered her ears, also glaring at the woman who was tucked into her seat, anymore and she'd have become part of it. "Relax, Carmina, I promise he's not going to kill us Just lay a little faith in him." She then gave a flagrant stare at the dashboard and hoped he'd see it.

"Yeah..." Carmina wheezed, then swallowed softly. "Yeah..."

"Radio?" Alexis suggested in a flighty tone, hoping the medical bot would get the hint. Which he did, once they began to roll in motion again.

_"Some say you're troubled boy!_

_Just because you like to destroy, all the things that bring the idiots joy!_

_Well, what's wrong with a little destruction?"_

The radio hissed to life, abruptly diverting the attention of the girls. "You couldn't have picked a more appropriate song." Alexis said with a groan and braced her forehead on her fingers with her elbow resting atop the door pane, trying to not smile at the humorous situation. She'd been scared witless earlier as well, and now thinking on it, it was actually funny. Or she could've been just rolling through hysterics because she was still nervous.

"Why, thank you." Knock Out said with a smarmy tone, racing for the outer limits in the setting sunlight.

**TRANSFORMERS**

The ride for the most part was peaceful, much to everyone's relief. Once Knock Out had gotten it across that he was going to be an aft to them for the rest of the way, they decided to just not fight with him. Something had nagged at Alexis for a while during the ride, and she looked to Lani, who'd fallen into a state of boredom and napped as it was two hours ago since they left the city. Phone laying loosely in her hand that was slumped in her lap. She then spied on Carmina, who retracted into her seat and stared out the window with a look of regret. Alexis knew there was no point in trying to soothe her unease.

"Knock Out?" She then piped quietly, he lowered the radio volume as a notion he was listening, but remained silent. "You said Starscream was preoccupied... When you said that, did you mean Megatron found out about him bringing me on board?"

"You're lucky he didn't. He was close to it though, Starscream nearly had his aft dismantled for you. However, Starscream's been punished for lying and is having to not only watch the workers, but be one... Well, I messed that up, but it's not like I care."

"That sounds like the old Starscream I know... At least, he's okay..." Alexis gave a pained smile. "Thanks, for picking us up."

"Tsh, whatever." He scoffed. "About time one of you said it, two hours later." He said sarcastically.

"I know, I know. Humans in your seats aren't exactly all the rage." Alexis mumbled, leaning back to get comfortable.

"You got that right, and your ridiculous female odorous body sprays. The smell is so sweet it's making me ill." His voice quivered as he turned off the road and heading east, deeper into the canyons, stirring the other girls from their reduced attention spans.

"Well would you rather stinky, sweaty, Humans with pungent B.O instead?" Alexis snapped back quietly.

"Primus no. I'd just rather you not be inside me period."

"That's disgusting." Alexis rattled.

"Yes it is. Now sleep well with that resounding in your little fleshy head." He sounded as if he'd just won a Championship Battle of some sort. Galaxy's Most Amazing Smartass? Alexis had a feeling he'd win that in less than a few seconds flat.

Much to the surprise of them both, Carmina had been listening in on the two, and she finally allowed herself a soft laugh.

"Finally decided to demonstrate normal audio output levels huh?" Knock Out noted sharply, still irritable at the thought of her screams from earlier.

"Sorry about that..." Carmina said submissively, shrinking away from the dashboard where the voice was coming from.

Knock Out only growled. "Yegh."

"It could've been worse." Carmina tried to argue. "I could've crapped all over your seat. Then what?"

"If you did, you'd be dead. That's the honest truth." Knock Out replied sternly. Alexis knew he meant it, she was pretty sure Carmina got that too.

"Yeah I know... Just don't drive too fast then, okay? I almost threw up back there. Please?" Carmina fiddled with her shirt, finding the inside stuffy with the lack of air and getting worked up mixing.

"Oh, the use of the 'p' word, I think I need to abide by that." He said with a hint of trouble in his voice.

"Knock Out, stop being an oink." Alexis chuckled softly. She referred to him as an 'oink' rather than a 'pig'.

"First date, a guy needs to be funny to make a good impression right?" He said loftily, speeding towards a low-lying black object that was growing in size. Alexis knew it was the _Nemesis_.

"Is that it...?" Carmina questioned, suddenly frozen with fear again as the ship quickly grew in dimension. Even Lani had moved forward, having awoken a little while ago and peered between the front seats at the Warship.

"One of the most powerful ships in existence, girly." Knock Out replied with a sense of pride. "We've got more reinforcements arriving today as well~... But you won't speak a word of that, now, will you ladies?" His voice was sly, questioning.

"Nope, not a damn word." Carmina nearly squealed.

"Lips are sealed." Alexis lied.

"Me too." Lani said with an awed tone.

"Good... Oh look, we've got ourselves a welcoming committee." He then didn't sound too pleased, Alexis noticed a dusky colored fighter diving right for them and near death-spin. Was it an Autobot?

They only shrieked when Knock Out slammed his breaks, nearly spinning out to avoid the dive bombing Jet and it's needle nose, the gust from the pass by rattling his hull harshly and nearly tipping him.

"Ow!" Lani cried out, clutching her head once the car came to a complete halt. As she removed her seatbelt in order to get a better view of the alien ship, she was promptly thrown about the cabin during the attack, feeling like the Human farmer out of Pixar's Lifted. Now, she was laying on the car's floor in a position that would make one think she'd broken her neck. Honestly, she felt like it was. "What the heck happened?"

Knock Out screeched his tires, doughnut'd, and fired up at the Jet that veered off to avoid the attack. "Blitzwing, I'll rip out your spark for that!" He near screamed, rotating to track the fighter as it spun again in an aerial stunt and circled him overhead. A high pitched laugh rang out through his scratchy radio transmission, earning a look of pure confusion from his charge. Carmina earnestly bug-eyed.

"_Long time no see, Knock Out!" _Came the voice, his accent heavily laced with German. Alexis raised a brow. Now she heard it all.

"Hey you flying dingbat! You nearly killed us!" Carmina shouted at the radio, sweat beading her dark skin, uncaring whether he heard her or not, just genuinely furious.

_"Oooh! Iz zhat a Human I hear?" _He exclaimed, causing Carmina to recoil. _"Vhy didn't jou say jou had little squishiez on board?"_ He cackled.

"Because it's none of your business!" Knock Out retorted and continued on his travel to the _Nemesis_, confident now the idiotic triple-changer would remain away from him. He returned his attention to the Humans in his cabin. "Get up off my floor." He ordered a struggling Lani, who's foot became twisted in the seatbelt.

"I'm trying!" She said, near crying from a mixture of frustration and pain that her head was ringing from. Alexis removed her seatbelt, climbing over Knock Out's center console to aid her, which he growled at.

"Oh, shut up." She snapped at him, but then her expression softened down at the younger woman. "Take it easy, I got you Lani." Alexis soothed, swiftly trying to unravel the belt from her ankle, letting it snap back against the side of the seat and tugging her friend upright with care.

"Thank you..." Lani groaned.

_"Knock Out," _ A different German voice addressed the red Decepticon, this one much calmer and smooth. _"Why is it jou have Humans vith you?"_

"Is that the same guy?" Carmina asked, horrified.

"None of your business, I said!" Knock Out snarled, ignoring the girl entirely.

_"Az ah Decepticon, I have zhe right to know!"_ An angrier, deeper voice proclaimed, making all of the Humans look at his dashboard again.

"What the hell is wrong with him?" Carmina peeped, quivering in her seat.

"Starscream's orders!" Knock Out retorted. "Buff off!"

_"Vhat did jou say you little red fool!"_ The Jet shouted. _"I have zhe same military clearance as Starscream! I demand to know!"_

"Not telling!" Knock Out didn't take him seriously. "And you're a bad liar! You were demoted after failing to follow through with Megatron's plans back on Cybertron!"

The fighter didn't respond, and instead, shot at them. The Alexis huddled over Lani's head protectively, and Carmina clung back against her seat when the sound of superheated bullets dinged off the roof and down his hood. Muting her screams, but hardly damaging their chaperone.

"Alright, that's it!" Knock Out seethed and with coming to a sharp halt, his doors flung open. "Get out!" He yelled, which they were more than happy to oblige.

Lani and Carmina only stood with jaws gaping when his vehicular form hissed, popped, clanked, and rang out into the windy valley while assumed his robotic mode. His bald white face bore an expression of pure anger. A sharp blade extended in place of his hand on one side, legs sliding apart in a fighting stance to brace himself, simultaneously placing himself between the spiteful Jet and his organic charge.

"Lani, Ego, back up!" Alexis called to them, grabbing the backs of their wardrobes to yank them out from behind him while he prepared to take on the temperamental Decepticon.

Both exhaled a battle cry that sounded like nails on a chalkboard to the organic subjects, and they huddled together when the Decepticon Knock Out had called Blitzwing altered form. A sand and plum colored bipedal, muscular Transformer. He tackled Knock Out in the process of landing on his chest. He'd sent them both reeling to the dirt in a violent cartwheel, particularly when Knock Out grabbed onto his opponent's hands to prevent him from escaping. The upheaval of violence brought the attention of a several other Decepticons that patrolled the roof of the ship and the grounds around it, all watching the feud take place, none planning to intervene. Nor displaying any attention to the tiny Humans who were watching the festivities unfold.

For the women, it was like a giant robot W.W.A match.

"Ridiculous." Came Starscream's weathered tone. His shadow fell over the Humans as they all proceeded to look in his direction, he stooped over them, raising a displeased brow at Alexis who only shrugged with a deferential smile. None of them had heard him come up from behind, despite his size, his tremulous footfalls had gone unheard and unfelt, due to the thrashing of the others. Soundwave remained at his side, surprising Alexis to see him out of ship.

He too was surveying the crack down, arms crossed and body gestures signifying he was amused by the whole thing.

_"And they're off..._  
><em>And out of the gate it's Backyard Barbecue and Beautiful Day with All-Beef Patties and Open Flame, but Open Flame is fading fast. But wait, here comes the favorite Lighter Fluid and Lighter Fluid is all over Charcoal Grill. And oh no, it's Light A Match and then it's Kaboom and Eyebrows are nowhere in sight. Where the heck did Eyebrows go? And from out of nowhere it's Thunderstorm with Thunder and Lightning and Get Out Of The Pool. And in the end it's Running For Cover, Let's Order Chinese and Did Anyone Remember To Bring In Grandpa."<em>

He recited the radio commercial in narration to the fighting, looking down when Carmina and Lani impulsively giggled. Alexis only shook her head.

"Blitzwing! Knock Out! Cease this idiocy at once!" His voice crackled, ignoring Soundwave, causing them both to pause in their struggle and look to him. He stood a few feet away, fuming. The dusky Jet did as ordered, moving with blinding speed off the pelted medic. A tell-tale strut in his gate as he approached, told Alexis he was feeling satisfied that he'd scarred his offender's vanity. It was the first time the women were allowed to get a clear look at his face.

It was a boiling red, with a bold structure and slightly protruding and faint dimpled chin that was bordered with a wide jaw strap. The strap itself was a dark gray, square nicks of purple glowing subtly off of it, resembling a thick beard. His helmet was shaped like that of a Sand Roamer, firm thick sheers of metal curved around the entirety of his head, stopping at the start of his jaw line. It seemed hinged at his temple where the rounding of the skull-cap began, and with the appearance of straps on the helmet, two wide circular black and purple 'goggles' beamed in the partial sunlight. Alexis self-consciously tucked her hair back against her head when the breeze lifted into a heavy wind, turning to glare at the dark clouds miles off. Carmina's alarmed cry startled her back to the situation, looking to find that the Fightercon had approached them and now bore a disturbed grin through a black-paned face with beaming red optics and devilish looking fangs. Fire hot back lighting that came from an indefinable source within the confines of his mouth further expelled a disturbed air about him. Alexis could only raise a brow while Carmina reeled back behind her eldest companion, and Lani remained frozen with fascination a short distance away.

The face cackled, even as it retreated with the appearance of Starscream's boot blocking their vision. He stood over them to make clarification that they were not objects of amusement to strange Decepticon flyer. Alexis could only smile at the protective stance he took with the taller Decepticon, whether he himself was aware of it or not, clearly confident he could disassemble the aggressor. Yet the humored Transformer showed no sign of pursuing them or visible aggression towards the Second in Command.

"Zhey're so cute! I'm sure Megaton vell dismember zhem if he finds out zhey're here, why bring fleshies Starscream?" He asked innocently, a far cry from the demonic tone he took earlier, an entirely different face to be exact as well. Unlike many of the Transformers, his voice thrummed with a metal zinging sound, like he was talking into a soup can.

"Why difference does it make, Blitzwing? They are not your concern." He addressed him with uncharacteristic calmness. Alexis figured it wasn't to ignite the fiery side of the fighter once more for a second round. "They are off limits. Even though I was only told it would be _one_ guest." He angled his head to cast an eye at Alexis with questionable origins.

"I'll explain everything later." Alexis waved him off.

"Looks like jour little femme has some kick to her." He then burst into the abrupt laughter that set Alexis and Carmina on edge, yet Lani struggled to block up a small smile. His face changed back to the red one and glared down at them, which the girls found to be worse that the other. Alexis then turned her attention to Knock Out who had gotten up and was stalking back to the ship to repair his now destroyed outer shell. Energon poured slowly from a gash in his side, a headlight cracked that hung loose from it's socket, and both brutally thrashed door panels were barely hanging from his forearms. Soundwave accompanied him, seeing as he was no longer needed.

"Knock Out?" Alexis called after him softly, to which he whirled about with death in his optics, making her retreat. "Thank you, for getting us here, I hope you feel better. That's all I wanted to say." She raised her hands submissively.

"Whatever." He hissed, sharply slapping a hand down at her dismissively, turning on his way back towards the lift. She smiled as she watched him leave.

While the word he spoke was careless by nature, his tone was softer than before. Pleased that he'd been shown some sort of appreciation. After all, while he did just throw them out of his cabin, it was all to prevent them from being injured when he sought to prevent the possible deaths the reckless Jet could've caused. Of course, he wouldn't expose that. He'd come to like Alexis' mannerisms and how she treated them with definitive respect over the past few days. Hardly his nature, as he first thought, considering his programming.

"Zhat spoiled sport's car had deserved zhat for a long time." Blitzwing spoke, now harboring a humored hint in his voice between his belligerence. Alexis felt a retort jump into her throat at his words, and she very much wanted to tell him he was wrong, yet she figured it had to have been irked from an ancient feud those two had yet to settle. She flinched when she saw that his face had changed once more.

_Just exactly how many faces does this guy have? _She wondered.

It was now elongated, and dimly brimmed a periwinkle purple, his tone now eloquent with his appearance as he hummed something that she could relate to one of thought. His only optic was rimmed with a thick black border of rubber, the other was a circular monocle or scope, which adjusted with she found he was focusing on her. His sole burning hot white pupil cause a rock to form in the pit of her stomach. He was _dangerous_. That look alone made it clear. He towered nearly fourty feet in height, at least five feet more than Optimus, that both sickened and worried her. His jet cabin rest between two bulging breast plates that made up the sides of his jet form, a body of an aristocratic nature, mixed with brutality. He was a prime example of Hell's soldier. Not something to be taken lightly, especially with the way she'd just watched him tackle Knock Out like a fat kid on a slice of pizza.

His stance changed with the switching of his faces, and it now stood with a more retracted and prim posture then the hunched and predatory one of his signifigant other. Chest expanded with arms folded over his chassis in faint arrogance, and leaning forward on the toes of his angular 'boots'. Alexis dually noted the Tank tracks on his struts that slapped around on their road wheels loosely every time he moved, the links clattering softly.

_He can turn into a tank too... That's... Not good news for the Autobots._ She thought grimly.

"Icy, now a face that will listen to reason." Starscream said austerely, resting back on his stabilizing servo. "These Humans are not to be touched or harmed in any way. Do I make myself clear? They are all to be treated as guests aboard this ship so far as I deem it so while Megatron is absent for the evening. 'Unknown matters' to attend to, as he put it so. Before you is Alexis." He opened a hand in Alexis' direction. "She is a dear friend to me, so I suggest you mind my words..." He warned with a subtle dark undertone.

"Very vell. Don't take zhis into account zhat'll keep my mouth zealed. Jou and I both know zhese Humans aren't supposed to be here." The Decepticon sighed, blinking down at the Humans clustering consciously at 'Screamer's feet.

Alexis stepped forward, offering the Decepticon a smile that he held little regard for. She outstretched her hand to her cowering company. "This is Lani, and Carmina." It was hard to extend formalities to a potential killer who seemed to struggle with who he was, though she had to do something to settle the quisling feel in her stomach.

The other girls only managed to wave at him weakly, Carmina looking on the verge of collapse.


	6. Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites

**Songs used - Chapter Title: Scary Monsters & Nice Sprites by Skrillex. **

**Hot Wings - Will. I. Am, Jamie Foxx, Anne Hathaway.**

**Theme of Carmina and Soundwave: Finding Out True Love is Blind - Louis XIV**

His face then deconstructed, and for the first time Alexis was able to get a clear look of how exactly he switched faces. Portions quickly folded, tucked out of sight, and the larger sections compressed against the rotating stump underneath his helmet. Unfortunately, it took the form the black face once more, leading Alexis to believe that he had no control over which 'personality' assumed hold. As soon as all it's required functional parts assembled, the face grinned down at them with an innocence that remind Alexis of a child, a demented one. He kneeled, beginning with a voice of a much higher pitch.

"Oooh zon't worry ladies, ve'll have so much fun aboard zhe _Nemesis_." His grin twisted in a way that made Alexis bristle yet she held her ground, falling back into an old psychological memo she'd read in a book once about the clinically insane, and how not to flee from them once they were prone to reacting with instincts to chase whatever ran from them. She didn't know if that'd apply to a giant alien robot, but she'd just have to roll with it.

"I really don't like the sound of that." Lani said softly from near-under Starscream's heel. He flicked his attention to her, ultimately making her regret speaking up.

"Don't hide from me!" He wheezed a hysterical chuckle. "Jou have nozhing to worry about now zhat I don't have orders to destroy jou!" He reached out for her, stopping when she squealed and slapped his finger before darting under Starscream's foot and out the other side with a fury. She reappeared on the other side, rubbing her hand from slapping his metal digit so hard. His grin faltered, for a fraction of a second, before it stretched in the Human term of 'ear-to-ear'. "Oh zhat's not very nice! HAHAHAAAH!" His face deconstructed, replaced with the red one soon after.

"Do zhat again and I'll wring jou of zhe red liquid jou're full of!"

It then switched again, black to the one that bore the face of a Halloween decorative, the wind hardly hushing out his giggling. "Jou don't vant zhat do jou~?"

"Oh _SHIT._" Carmina swore quietly from behind 'Screamer's ankle. "We came all the way here to be a giant PMSing robot's tea party dolls?"

"No, I won't allow it. Come, enough of this." Starscream nearly booted Blitzwing in the chest, causing the child-like persona to retreat with a pouting frown. Starscream then dropped down to lower his hand to the ground, Alexis scrambled onto it in relief. At this point there was no place she felt safer at the moment. She motioned for the others, to which Lani was first to board, and a reluctant Carmina after. She instantly gravitated to Alexis abdomen, making the older woman chuckle out of embarrassment for her.

The insane persona, now having been deprived of a source of entertainment, was replaced with even tempered, blue, solemn one from before. He tagged close behind the seeker, his monocle adjusting once he aimed it skyward. "Zhis weather is very peculiar. Zhose storm clouds are not a naturval formation, itz almost as if zhey're forced to manifest."

"Thank you for clarifying the obvious, Blitzwing. Let it not slip your mind that you and Knock Out will be punished for your insolence displayed here today. That will be dealt with immediately."

Lani noticed the other metal giant slouched, obviously in dismay to hear that he too would be chastised. He was frightening, yet with a strange factor of admiration in his facade. Though Lani agreed with Alexis' alien companion, that it was uncalled for, what he did. At the moment, she exchanged eye-catch with Carmina, both equally dubious of whether they were going to vomit out of pure fear or excitement. Or both. Lani's instincts were screeching for her to run, even if it meant doing a Leap of Faith out of the hand of the creature she sat in now. Ultimately, the more she dwelled on it, the more she realized that the fear that surfaced before when she encountered the red vehicle was crawling it's way back from the edge's of her consciousness now that the action had subsided and her current predicament was now able to be fully absorbed. Her eyes felt hot, and when she felt pressure on her back, she lifted her face to see Alexis watching her in concern, yet she fully understood why the girl had sudden become upset.

"It's going to be okay, Lani." Alexis said gently, wiping away the trickling tear that chilled Lani's cheek with the sting of the summer storm winds.

As the woman with reddish brown hair sat back in Starscream's palm, her eyes dropped to her lap after Lani gave her a confident smile. The insecurity Alexis felt was very much a normal reaction when she realized the gravity of her mistakes. Her heart thundered against her chest and her blood pressure had yet to cease causing her to have a dizzy spell. She was scared, not because of Starscream, or the rumble she was just in with her friends, but because of the state of affairs her friends were in now. Their very essence was in mortal danger, and she'd foolishly allowed them into Knock Out's doors. It was supposed to be Starscream to pick them up, not Knock Out. And Lani certainly wasn't predicted to just follow them without saying something. The girl obviously had picked up their urgency, and she didn't appeal to surprises very well as a child, it hadn't changed since. Alexis wondered she could've planned this for another day, to prevent this all from happening. She then asked herself if there was a matter of time before Lani became overwhelmed with curiosity at the disappearances of Carmina and herself. True, she couldn't have held the secret off forever, and after this day, should they survive with the unpredictable Decepticons, she'd have to make it very clear that revealing any of this anybody outside of themselves, was absolutely forbidden. In a way, Alexis felt as if she were betraying the Autobots. 'Fraternizing with the Enemy', as one could put it. She could only reimburse herself with the ill-comforting thought that she'd reveal all that went on aboard the Nemesis after today. Particularly to speak in Optimus in private about Starscream's meeting with her the night after she left the base and headed for the hotel with Rolltide.

The subtle giggles of Lani and Carmina pulled her back to reality, and she glanced past Starscream only to fight off the smile that tugged at the corners of her lips. Blitzwing's black face was back again, and this time he was silently endearing the women with silly expressions over the seeker's shoulder.

_What a ham… _Alexis thought when she finally sniggered into her palm, catching Starscream's attention. She could smile apologetically as he looked over his shoulder plate at the dust colored Decepticon with detest all over his features. Blitzwing broke away before Starscream could open his mouth, screaming with laughter. Starscream could only look on in untarnished disgust.

Carmina was cupping her face, her eyes misty from holding back her own obnoxious laughter at the robot's legitimate inanity. And Lani remained sprawled onto her side, laughing more than she had in a long while. Alexis had finally gotten through her trills of mirth that made her stomach ache so, surprised at Lani and Carmina for temporarily forgetting their fears. Perhaps it did them a little good to do so.

"Look zhey're laughing!" The impractical persona claimed, his figure tight as he returned to inspect the charge in the seeker's hands and cutting his progression to the lift off. Ultimately making the gray, red, and silver Transformer growl. "Jou actually find me funny?" He sounded electrified, finding it hard to restrain himself from yanking the Humans he found adorable from his commanding officer's servos. Starscream personally found it amazing that he even _attempted _to restrain himself.

"Haven't you heard, Blitzwing? When Humans aren't being terrified by that brute of a third persona of yours, they're easily amused." Starscream sniffed, surprised at the vindictive jealousy laced in his tone. It was because that he'd made Alexis laugh, not the seeker.

"Well," Lani said after sat forward, looking up at him with a ingenuous interest twinkling in her eye, her body language incasing once more to a subdued state. "He has a point, me and my friends laugh at anything at times, be it mild violence or not. To be honest, the last thing I expected to find amusing was a giant robot." She allowed herself to let a quiet chuckle, then her smile shrank to a small curvature of the cheeks.

"How dare jou laugh at me! Pathetic fleshling!" The fiery personality sudden appeared, hot air hissing between the chip in his dental plate, causing a faint whistling sound. He was pushed back into the helm when the black face fought for control again.

"Jou know, jou're da first Human to say zhat to me! Aund no screaming or running eizher!" He practically squealed, causing Alexis and Carmina to jump, unsure of what to make of it. They swapped nervous smiles, both angling their heads up at the Transformer with equally cocked brows.

"The hell?" Carmina barked through a guffaw when he leapt off out of sight only to shuffle across the dirt with an obnoxious metallic humming.

"It's best not to give that particular personality of his too much attention." Starscream warned rather flatly. "He is very quarrelsome and dangerous despite this humorous display he's giving you now. He's what you Humans consider a 'Nutjob'."

"Who isn't these days?" Carmina stated.

"Point taken." Replied the seeker.

"So he has MPD?" Alexis looked up to him, rather concerned about this revelation, she'd rather he confirm it for her though.

"Yes." He answered.

"So how many personalities does he have exactly? And how did it happen?" Carmina's eyes were as wide as tennis balls once they arrived to the glowing shaft that had an apparent anchoring effect on the ship. She retreated further into his servo, backing against his grasping digit.

"He was experimented on by Blackairachnia... Not to be confused with Airachnid," He added quickly. "She has long since been destroyed, but as a side-effect of her poor mechanical knowledge, it's caused him to malfunction and display multiple personalities, each demanded a face of their own, and now they are integrated within the same rotation stump on his neck. Neither more pleasant that the other. Whether or not you'd consider it lucky, but he only has three, which all have names besides his title. The one who you see now is Random. The quietest of the trio who is also the base personality, is Icy. Lastly, the savage you saw earlier was Hothead."

"Lovely." Carmina rolled her eyes.

Just as Starscream set foot on the platform, the heavy thudding of Blitzwing's boots caught their attention, finding that it was Icy now back in control, and from the looks of it, relieved to be. Thunder banged through the valley, causing all of them to jump at the sound, only Carmina giving a shout which she soon felt embarrassed about.

**TRANSFORMERS**

None of the crew had a thing to say about the sudden influx of Human visitors to the Decepticon warship. Yet some managed to escape Starscream's unruly gaze just enough to send questioning stares his way. Again, he'd covered the Humans with his clawed servos in order to deter their red, pupil less optics.

Alexis could hardly allow herself to relax, however, even with the bridge silent besides the steady tapping of Soundwave's digit-tips on the console before him, constantly relaying information that was of no interest to the Humans.

"This place, yup." Carmina nodded fearfully. "This is what I imagined Hell to look like."

"Why, thank you." Starscream nodded to her sarcastically.

Rolling his optics before she could respond, Starscream approached Soundwave from behind, to which the purplish Decepticon turned to address his presence. His shoulder sagged the instant he saw the other two Humans, lifting his head sharply back up at the officer.

"Don't give me that look, you were aware that only one was to appear today, only, a minor accident occurred." He said.

"What look?" Lani whispered to Alexis, who could only offer a smile.

Alexis turned to Starscream, tapping on his forefinger to get his attention. "It was our fault she got caught in this mess. When you sent Knock Out to pick us up; without telling me, _by the way_… We weren't aware she was going to follow us…" Alexis turned to her long time friend, smiling apologetically. "I'm sorry, Lani. I hated keeping it secret from you, but maybe this was for the better that you found out. Just, please, let me make this very clear, do not speak of this to anyone."

"Why would I, Alexis? Do you know how stupid and crazy I'd look in front of people for proclaiming the existence of giant robots? They'd lock me in the Nut House." Lani tittered with a hint of anguish, still very much afraid of her helplessness to the great metal beasts at the moment. She lifted her head to smile at the seeker who only raised a brow at her. "Besides, I like this one and that three-faced one already."

"Don't allow yourself to become comfortable, girl." Said Starscream bitterly. "We are not the Autobots."

"Who?" Lani then looked between him and Alexis, to which the brunette slapped a hand to her face.

"Apparently I'm going to be a dictionary today… Later, Lani. Later."

_"How long, how loooong, with this keep goin' on?" _Soundwave's exterior stereos crackled.

"Oh, silence." Starscream piped, releasing the Humans from his hands onto the work place that Soundwave had stationed himself. The only retort the purple digitgrade Decepticon could manage was an utterly flabbergasted slouch in his posture. More along the lines of 'you gotta be kidding me.'

"Watch them briefly and take leave until I return. I must unfortunately deal with two very large bots acting like children today." Starscream departed despite Alexis' plea for him not to just drop them away with the resentful Transformer.

"Yeah sure, leave me with the sexy robot!" Carmina yelled his way, but the doors had already shut, leaving them to the quiet blips and droning of the ship. She'd earned looks from both of her friends, including the faceless mechanical sentient. She only dropped onto her haunches, glowering up at him when she found he was tickled by her comment.

"Oh shut up." She murmured at Lani's runs of quiet laughter. She switched her attention to him when he exhaled a low, long, grunt. It was chillingly deep, and it wasn't from any known recording. Alexis raised her brows.

_Did he just try to speak…? Or was he trying to laugh?_

"I didn't actually mean it, it was sarcasm." Carmina said up to him, monotone.

He only shrugged, as if accepting that false compliment with no effect on his ego.

Tempted by nothing other than her own intrigued nature, Lani stood, carefully traversing the holographic illuminated keys to close the gap between her and his rapid moving hand. Like someone pulled a plug, his twitching movements came to a dead halt, and he watched with cold glare behind his faceplate as she reached out like a Human child would, stroking the side of his servo-digit.

She smiled humbly as he made no attempt to brush her away, had Starscream not given the orders to watch them, he probably would've popped her like a grape. She was being so simply ginger with it, like it'd hurt him if she made contact.

"He doesn't feel textured like the other one did." Lani said innocently. "He's not as cold either… Fingers are warm from moving them so fast?" She tilted her head up at him with the question aimed at no one in particular, retreating when she got the overwhelming feeling he was staring at her, or glaring.

"Sheesh, lighten up buddy." Carmina muttered at him while Lani slunk her back over to where she and Alexis clustered.

_"Sheesh, lighten up Baby." _Soundwave repeated, although with slight altercations. Ultimately making Carmina blubber at him, dumbfounded and flustered.

Alexis hid a small smile. "Looks like you have a boyfriend." She said with no particular intent to tease, especially when the massive Decepticon shot his reflective plate in her direction, delivering what she would've taken to be a dirty look.

"Oh shut it, Alexis." The girl bemoaned, she lifted her hand from her face, sighing at him with a less-than-enthusiastic expression. "That was for the 'sexy' comment wasn't it?"

However, Soundwave had fallen back into his eerie silence, only giving a half-hearted cock of the head and returning to his occupancy.

"I wouldn't become too close with these Transformers Carmina, Lani…" Alexis shook her head, having no regard that one of them happened to be with ear-shot. "They aren't the friendly kind."

"Then why are we here?" Lani asked, innocently enough, her gaze still fixed on the metal giant.

"Lani, this wasn't a planned outcome. You were supposed to be distracted so Carmina here could conquer the fear she had of them, well, slight fear... She's met one before, but it was small, my size. I had planned to meet with Starscream, the one who carried us here. Though he sent Knock Out to take his place. Carmina wanted to tag along, that's all. This wasn't supposed to happen… But I guess the extra didn't add much harm…" She rolled her shoulders as if to comfort herself. "These Robots haven't touched you yet, because they've been given specific orders not to harm us, thanks to Starscream and the friendship I have with him… Trust me, the explanation on that scenario would take hours to tell."

"So, they're bad guys?" Carmina asked plainly, having already delved in above her head and finding the thought of freaking a useless idea. It was to start, where would it have gotten her exactly? Perhaps squished.

"In terms yes. These Transformers are not kind, gentle, or even the nearest sweet towards Humans when they aren't given orders to demonstrate otherwise. Especially Soundwave towards me. I… I had destroyed his face, out of defense of a friend whom he almost put an end to. It was more luck than anything, but I managed to crush his face with a boulder with some help from a little Transformer called a Mini-Con… He hates me. These guys operate under the title of "Decepticons", while the others, whom we can trust, are called 'Autobots'." Alexis said firmly, flicking her eyes up at Soundwave to glare at him when he halted in his operations briefly, as if to listen in. Not like it mattered anyway. "They are cruel; ruthless, they've killed Humans before. In countless numbers. It doesn't matter to them- Most, of them," She corrected before continuing. "Women, children, they've killed them all. Trust me, with all the recorded proof of their past attacks on Human cities, our government tries to cover these national incidents up. It's a profane scenery that you don't want to watch take place. Their intentions are to control Earth and it's inhabited intelligent race, their leader wants far more though." She quieted, leaving the others to think on her words. "These guys may seem, cool. But they're a far cry from it."

"… What, uh, what about that Starscream character? He seems… Snobby, but, safe." Carmina was now nervous again having heard this newfound information, and she chewed her lower lip softly.

"Starscream, I will admit, is different. He never attacked us when we were children even when the Decepticons tried to pull fast ones, in fact he never found is the least bit interesting until he aligned himself with the Autobots for a short time… Fights broke out plenty of times in the base when he didn't want to play along with the Autobots "Everybody Pulls Their Weight" gig. Me, Rad, Carlos, Fred and Billy, we all worked hard to get him to become friends with us and even made gifts. He ended up becoming attached to me in particular because I was so resilient against his turn downs." She laughed quietly at the memory. "When things turned hectic however, he abandoned the Autobots and went back to his old ways… Yet he still retained some kind of positive outcome from his short time batting for the other team. He's always been a bit, uptight, and aloof, and most certainly lazy to some extent but he's never been entirely a burden."

"Sounds like you too were close," Lani noted the fondness in Alexis voice. Making the woman flush when she too became aware of it too late. "It's okay Alexis. It's your life, you're still my friend." She said softly.

Alexis couldn't help but break into a wide smile at the younger woman, she'd always been positive. Reminded her much of herself, maybe someone even better than herself. That kind of innocent purity was scarce.

"I don't even want to know how you two got it on." Carmina rolled her eyes, making her friend scowl.

"Don't be stupid Carmina." Alexis said bitterly.

"Just trying to lighten the mood." She said, suddenly tired.

_"Bow-Chicka-Wow-Wow." _Came the voice of Tucker.

All three women turned to stare up at the stealth operative, mouths agape. Lani was first to break into a hysterical fit, Carmina having fallen to her knees with a series of muffled laughs, coming out as shortly spaced puffs through her fingers. Alexis only remained with arms across her bust, cheeks a faint cherry red and her figure stiffly aggressive.

"How I wish a real Master Chief was here to kick your big metal butt right now. Then we'd really have nothing to worry about, you cruel thing." Carmina bit out her words, finding the remark simultaneously funny as her amity.

Soundwave 'said' nothing.

**TRANSFORMERS**

Within the hour that Jack arrived, it was late in the day with the sun just touching the rim of the canyon borders, Raf and Miko having already arrived and decided to help his mother around for some exercise when she begun complaining of built up fluid within her feet and ankles. Rachet overseeing their activities with a wary eye to ensure his patient didn't suffer any unneeded stress. He smiled at the medic who looked his way with no return friendly expression, not to be intentionally rude, but he was busy monitoring a patient, something Rachet took with in-depth passion. "I brought what I could salvage," He stated as he dismounted Arcee, allowing her to undergo the metamorphosis that turned her into the slick Autobot she was. "Surprise, the Xbox and PS3 were still there." He said with a chuckle and his mother rolled her eyes.

"Nothing… Else?" She huffed, her lungs still very much tired.

"They didn't take your jewelry… Uh let's see, we still have your fine China, all the family heirlooms were intact. I find it weird, but mostly the fridge was raided, and the TV was stolen along with a couple of my PS3 games, but otherwise, nothing. I dunno, I guess they were just a hurry… Some of your clothes were scattered everywhere. I brought you clean clothes too." He said in a distracted tone, now discovering the oddity that was the robbers would pass on such potential goldmines.

"Possible. Or they just took what they found to be amusing for keeps, not exactly an attempt for profiting off their thieved goods." Rachet suggested quietly.

Jack nodded in agreement, turning to make his way for Bulkhead who was still awaiting for him to remove the cargo from his seats and trunk. "Sorry Bulkhead," Jack said with a smile, he then looked over his shoulder to see that the other two children had hoisted his mother back to bed. "Hey Raf, Miko? Could you help? The sooner we get this stuff out, the sooner Bulkhead can get out of this vehicle form."

"Sure!" Was Raf's response, rushing ahead of the taller teen to catch the box that Jack was about to pass off.

"Miko? Please?" Jack said calmly, giving her a sincere look.

It was a short moment before she returned it with a soft smile, nodding.

**TRANSFORMERS**

It was forty minutes later, that Optimus returned to base, leaving Rachet feeling secretively foolish for not regard the subtle beep of intruding vehicles on the base perimeter for a moment, since it too surprised him to see his arrival with the other Autobots.

"Still nothing?" Arcee asked from her spot behind Jack, occasionally watching him pass by.

"Our attempts to discover the identity of June's attacker have left us unrewarded yet again." He replied with a subtle shake of the head. "It seems this person of interest is as what Alexis called, a "spook." He or she sticks true to their nature, it seems."

She nodded with a disappointed expression. "We'll find out what's going on. We've heard nothing back from Fowler yet, like yesterday."

**TRANSFORMERS**

It was short time later that they'd finished unpacking poor Bulkhead, allowing him to return to his Robot Mode. Jack aided his mother in cleaning herself up by wiping her face with a packet of fresh wipes, and gently brushing her slightly matted black hair, which he offered to wash with warm water and shampoo in a bucket later.

"Hey guys, check this out."

All had turned their attention to the 12 year old settled on the floor near the stairwell, his laptop resting on his thighs. His expression was freaked as he looked to the Autobots and turned his laptop outward to show them a picture from an article. "It reads: Mysterious Black Figure Blurs It's Way Through Jasper, Nevada City Limits."

The picture was indeed fuzzy, but it was nothing the diminutive computer wiz couldn't clean up. The figure was tall, at least 10' feet at the shoulder telling from the comparison of the startled bystander in the image as well. It didn't seem to have a face, until Jack approached and noticed it's burning aubergine eyes.

"What in the world?" He muttered, taking the computer gingerly from the boy's hands, he scrolled down on the page, then began to read the article aloud.

"Whether this is an unexplained hoax, or a wide-spread paranormal anomaly, Jasper authorities have been flooded by on going calls of a strange black and ungainly thin figure fleeing through the streets along with the current cases of ongoing robberies, the most recently the house of a 16 year old boy… That's gotta be me they're talking about." He looked up to Transformers, brows furrowed with eyes wide. Arcee nodded, ushering him to continue.

"Described by some as tall, frail in appearance, but muscular, the culprit sweeps the streets mostly during the evening twilight hours, between 6:00 PM and 12:00 AM. Some people dismiss it as a crime spree by a creature who is the production of several bored teenagers in a costume rig, others, have more outlandish ideas of what the creature might be. From beings of mythical lore, to tie-ins of predicted events from Earth's historical documentaries. No one has yet to be killed in any of these crimes, but the rate of their executions is increasing, several eye-witnesses being women. It is unclear of why this estranged being continues to reveal itself to women in the night, but it's further been described as having all of the traits being listed above, along something of a… Mechanical origin… It's body is mostly black, shiny, and some say segmented. It's face is white, with purple glowing eyes." Jack looked sick.

**TRANSFORMERS**

Alexis walked, Lani close behind. They hugged the walls of the ship corridors, Alexis retracing the direction by poor memory alone to the medical bay where frank bangs were previously heard before Starscream returned. He'd released a warning to any who dare lay a servo on the Humans so that they could dilly about without worrying. it wasn't like they were going to walk into the nearest Decepticon shower room at any point. Carmina, surprisingly - or rather not actually - chose to remain on her perch atop the altar near Soundwave whom she'd become comfortable around, for the most part.

She gasped to find the med-bay door ajar, peering around the corner with the results of those assailing bangs coming to her eyes. It was Knock Out, and Blitzwing. Both in dreadful conditions. Starscream had explained their punishments to be swift, but Alexis hadn't the slightest clue she'd find them like this. It was almost tear-jerking to her when she heard the red Transformer groan wistfully. Sparks shot from an unknown source in his shoulder in a slow rhythm, and his head remained lopped to the side as if his spinal support had been broken. She took Lani's hand, pressing it to the door entry point.

"Lani stay here okay?" She said with a faint command in her voice.

The Acaster girl did as she was told, silently watching her new science fiction fascinations with a grieving cast.

Alexis was careful to approach the gaunt doctor, afraid to catch the rebulk of his pent rage for his damaged body. With a hand twisting the seam of her shirt, she shivered at no actual chill, and her skin pimpled faintly. "Knock Out?" She nearly squeaked. Remaining still when the mech's red optics flicked towards the sound of her voice, the menacing ire in them stronger than ever. He was furious.

"Oh god Knock Out. I'm so, so sorry." She said just above a whisper. "This is all my fault."

"Wha…?" He now sounded confused at her fretting.

"If I hadn't asked for Starscream to come pick us up… You wouldn't have ended up like this. You wouldn't have gotten shot at, in a fight… I was too stupid to open my mouth and say anything to Starscream when I should've jumped him the first moment I got." She shook her head.

"…"

"I…. I'd like to repay you any way I can. You may be a Decepticon, but from experience with Starscream and Optimus' words, I've learned to give everyone a chance."

"Shut up." Knock Out grumbled bitterly. "Don't feed me that nonsense. It's not even your fault. If it wasn't for… That dusty buzzard, I would've just had a smooth ride back up here instead of being on the edge of faltering like this." He tried to point to an unconscious Blitzwing, the triple-changer's "Icy" and "Random" faces lay a state of semi-assembly, both being partially visible like his axis beneath them had turned loose from the beating. Neither of their optics glowed to show a sign of being active. A lens atop his helmeted head was frayed. His impressive size aside, even he prove not a match for an angered Starscream. Alexis leered at this. She was all too aware that he'd been made a fool in front of her and her friends, at least, to him he was. Mostly, this was caused by her. These blows too sadistic and malicious to have been conjured from a simple "punishment" tardy. It was like he was possessed by Megatron himself in order for this to happen.

"Besides," Knock Out wheezed. "In what, exact way, would you repay me for my services?"

"I don't know…" Alexis said honestly.

"Figures." He smiled an ugly smile, leaning against the console behind him.

"I'm sorry Knock Out. I can't do anything because I'm some little 'meatball.' But I have to do something to repay you, I mean, you've acted as a babysitter for me, tolerated my presence… You acted as a chaperone today. I've got some major kiss-ups to do." She smiled up at him, now having wandered close enough to stand by his pointed foot.

"You want to repay me?" He dropped his head, almost effortless in the motion. A brow was raised as he looked at her but he held no smile. "Stop trying to befriend me. I don't care for Humans, is that clear? You're pests to me and mere amusement, nothing more. Particularly you. Maybe I should blame this on you, considering that bird brain's been supremely irritating to me for the past several days now since you showed up."

"I see," Alexis didn't bother to try and disguise the hurt intertwined with her words. "I'll stay away from you for now on then, keep interaction at a minimum-to-none ratio. Just, get better Knock Out. I can't really live with seeing you like this on my conscious."

"Should that bother me?"

"You got some nerve." Lani bleated from behind Alexis out of the blue, causing the girl to start. "You guys don't make any sense. Do you know how boring it'd be if you did take over the galaxy or whatever you want to do? So you killed the good guys who think what you're doing is wrong, big whoopee. Yet when there's no more butt to kick, then what are you going to do?" She shrugged violently, crossing her arms with a huff. "Besides, good always triumphs over evil. So you guys are royally screwed away. From what Alexis told me, you guys messed up your home just for this dumb war, really smooth may I say…"

"Lani enough." Alexis said sharply. She'd grown irritated with the girl's monologue.

"Huh. You think I didn't care what happened to Cybertron?" Knock Out retained the sarcasm in his voice but he was clearly vexed.

"Well apparently not, seeing as you just willingly blew it all to Kingdom Come." Lani snapped.

"It was the tail end of the war when I decided to join in Megatron's reign for dominance of the planet. It was fear that drove me… I had no faction in the beginning. I was just a bystander in the mayhem. A medical assistant. Arrogant as it is for you to come to the conclusion that none of us cared what happened to the planet, you're right about us destroying it. Lord Megatron ultimately regrets this outcome, and he wishes to restore it to order, his order…. May I say, that the Autobots helped us ravage it further by fighting back." He grunted with a shambling grin. "The Decepticons' attacks were intense, bloody, swift, and violent…" He looked down at his abdomen, finding it's brilliant red beaded with energon. "Those who refused died. I wasn't going to die just for some 'noble' cause."

"So you're a coward?" Alexis asked.

"I'm just a parry on the get-by," He tilted his head. "While down to it I'd like very much for this ridiculous destruction to end, as tiresome as it is, I really don't care for all the Autobots struggle for. Peace, universal equality, harmony… No matter what they do to try and preserve those silly notions, they never last. Even with the end of the Decepticon onslaught, another war 'll just spark down the road. Someone's gonna get selfish again… You get the drift." He shrugged his good shoulder, then winced at the action.

"Those possibilities are open down the road, but right now… This has got to stop." Alexis shook her head. "Even if it means a temporary peace, it's something we all deserve. Autobots, Decepticons, Humans…" She jabbed an accusing finger at him. "One side has to go down for this crap, and, it's not going to be the Autobots. I'll make that firm and crystal clear, Knock Out. You either man up, or go down with them. The wound is always ugly before it gets better. The Autobots aim for peace, yes, but peace needs to be fought for. It's a well known hypocritical nature throughout history. If you think a day doesn't go by without them regretting what they do to you guys, then you've got another thing coming."

"Is that so, Alexis?" Starscream's voice snaked it's way into their conversation, and his red optics now bled their evil light onto her. Yet she remained fearless of him, especially him. And she turned to face him without a flinch.

"Yes Starscream. Let us out of here, now. You're not the Starscream I know, you're some kind of phony. The real you is lost. You've no nobility like you did 24 years ago, you flee, backstab, and then you almost kill these two for what? Me?"

He chuckled at her voice when it began to waver.

"So causing me grief is funny to you?" She hiccupped.

"Oh dear Alexis… Why must you cry?" His expression then turned sorry. "Was it not you that promised yourself not to get close to any of the Decepticons here? Come to think of it, during our little excursion back in the canyons, you never did relay that I wasn't among those you wouldn't allow yourself to get close to." He circled her and Lani, who'd shuffled close to her and watched the seeker like a frightened mouse. He tapped his chin as he continued, looking down upon the battered fighter jet.

"I don't bask in your grief, Alexis. Yet I don't exactly… Feel sorry, for causing it either. If it's one thing I admired about you, it was your bravery. I also liked your determination, however I also found it bothersome when I myself couldn't muster it like you did during times of extreme action. Time to awaken from your little dream world, Alexis. This isn't a story where all who you meet shall come to befriend you, like some Human fairy tale. Far from it, dear…" He bent down to look her right in the face. Her expression was abashed, few tears streaked her cheeks while she listened to him. Her eyes held pure shock which in turn surprised him. She had indeed tried to hold her guard with them, yet she was weakened by her own nature, to care for others. "Allow me to help you, Alexis… You see, you walk among murderers here. Countless lives lost, numerous amounts of them Human. That attack in Los Angeles, I was present. Several Humans I wasted through those filthy city streets. Listening to their screams had never really been more satisfying."

"Then why don't you squash me?" She screamed suddenly, causing him to raise a brow and his smile fall into a taken aback look upon his face.

"You've gotten on my last nerves, at times Alexis. Were it not for our meetings during the reign of Unicron, right here and now I'd kill you. Curse you, girl. You embedded yourself in my spark like a scraplet does the hide of a Cybertronian…" He trailed off as he watched her, the metal of his servos grinding together as he clenched them so tight. Never feeling more angered at the moment, he did want to kill the accursed Human for her nonsense, yet that shred of him was the only, undying, reason she wasn't a pile of slop underneath his stabilizing servo. He'd find a way to expunge this feeling he had, no matter the cost. He needed to move on his life, without her. For her sake.

Alexis couldn't have expressed her feels more at the moment, in fact, she didn't know which felt stronger at the moment. The swells of disgust, nausea, anxiety, betrayal, fury, anguish all clenched her insides like a knife-fanged vice grip. The next move for it was to rip them out of her just as abruptly as it'd taken hold. With no desire to admit it, Alexis knew in the back of her mind that he was somewhat right. She shouldn't have treated them like friends, their disgusting pasts had all but been forgotten. She only hoped they'd repent for it, setting herself up for this to slash her again.

"You're an ass." Lani sudden piped up, frowning at the seeker through the quaking in her extremities. "Hard to believe she could l- care for such a horrible creature. You're lower and than low, I mean even Hell wouldn't take you."

"Oh I assure you little girl, I'm not so bad." He grinned. "It's Megatron who's the bad one."

"Whatever. Nice to know you don't give a flying hell for her. If you did, you wouldn't be doing this to her. Sometimes I wonder everyday if I'm living in a dream realm when I see black soulless people like you." She shook her head. "I'm still having to get your existence past me as it is. That alone is going to take some time, years even."

"So nice of you to regard us as people than machines."

"You act like machines when it comes to displaying acts of caring, so I don't see why I did such a thing. Maybe it's because you behave so much like Humans even though from I've gotten here today that you regard us so little as insects." Lani shot back.

"Ve can only regard jou as vhat jou are, Human." Said Icy, weakly.

"You shut up." Lani stabbed a finger at him. "You got your butt handed to you already, so you have no grounds to say anything."

"Vhat?" Snarled Hothead, even though his face didn't show, the lack of bright glowing from Icy's exposed optic showed that he was no longer in control, and the gears beneath his faces groaned as they tried to comply with the action of twisting the active face to the front, sparking slightly. "I'll rip out jour insides jou filthy vittle fleshy football!"

"Seems like your all words and no action." Lani sniffed. "You…"

It had come to her attention that a subtle banging was echoing through the room. It was deep, pulsing, in a tune.

"What in Primus…?" Starscream suddenly looked estranged. Alexis was silent during the entire confrontation, only staring at the floor with tears on the occasional downfall. Starscream glanced down at her, feeling the painful squeeze on his spark at her face.

"Vhat is zhat?" Icy had assumed control, sounding out his agony when the shifting connections beneath his faces protested the automatic motion of adjusting to the dominant visage.

The current matter no longer an instant issue to him, Starscream stalked out of the medical wing and hurried for the control room where the wretched sounds blared from. A cluster of workers outside the bridge doors all scattered when he pushed through, nearly knocking a few over.

"What in the name of Primus is going on?" He wailed when the doors entered, his jaw falling open at the sight that greeted him. Never had he thought Soundwave would goof off when there was no higher-up around.

_"I wanna party!_

(Oooooohuoaaay)

I wanna samba!

I wanna party!

I wanna samba!

I wanna party, and live my life!

(Live my liiiife~)

I wanna party! And flyyyy~"

"WHAT IS THIS _RACKET?_" The Decepticon Second in Command thundered as best he could over the music that deafened the entire bridge staff on board. Soundwave continued to bob and weave to the rhythm, hip thrusting briefly just to make Alexis' Human companion laugh whole-heartedly while she watched on from the console top, stopping in her own ridiculous display of dancing to do so. She then froze at the sight of the seeker in the shade of the overhang by the entry way, suddenly looking pale. _And rightfully so…_Starscream thought darkly, folding his hands behind his abdominal platting to stroll into the center of the bridge, sneering at the staff below who had also been enveloped by the music.

Carmina began to wave wildly at Soundwave to let him know he was about to moon walk right into the seeker and end up eviscerated in the aft. She covered her eyes with a muted 'doh' when he backed into him, jumping forward and turning mid air to confront the intruder, the irritating preppy music cutting from his audio exports immediately. His body language going slack, truly looking embarrassed and ashamed that he'd been caught letting loose, he slid away back towards the console. Looking to Carmina as if he were scolding her like 'give me some head warning next time!'

She only shrugged wordlessly at him along the lines of 'I did!'

"Refrain from acting so irresponsibly, Soundwave, or it won't be me you'll have to deal with for your foolishness." Starscream uttered under his air cycle, a warning at the communications expert. Assured he wouldn't walk in on such a horrid scene again, he redirected his attention to the workers down below who seemed to pout as the excitable air had left the atmosphere. "Let those words fall upon you all as well! Should I catch this despicable display of idiocy going on here in again, you all will be punished severely and deprived on energon for weeks to come!"

Carmina watched on from her new found hiding spot, behind the arm panel that Soundwave's fingers sprouted from, he seemed to have them cupped around her waist, not in a menacing or affectionate way, she wasn't even sure if it was an attempt to safeguard her, or a preparation to throw her, yet he remained still. The dark armored workers cowered at the screams of their temporary commanding officer, all scuttling back to their posts with hanging heads.

"Man," She said softly once Starscream slipped back out of the room to deal with whatever was happening with Lani and Alexis. She placed a hand on her chest in a feeble attempt to still her thundering heart. "He doesn't have a sense of humor or an ounce of "Get Down" in him does he?" She glanced at the purple Decepticon who shook his head slowly.

He'd fallen back into his stern and depression-able state from before, the screen in front of them glaring off his inky black mask. Carmina inwardly gasped once the light retreated to the opposite side of it, allowing her glimpse the shadow of a sloping human-like muzzle beneath. She couldn't define skin color, only dark patches were his 'eyes' would've been and a set furrowed black brow plates. In that split second she couldn't locate a mouth, and he glanced back over to her once he'd taken notice that she was staring at him. She rubbed the back of her arm when the girl felt heat rush her face. "Sorry I got you trouble. I guess Humans just tend to that a lot for you guys huh?"

He said nothing, shaking his head.

"I gotta give credit where it's due, and I must say you can cut a rug." She managed an awkward smile, blinking when he tilted his head.

"It's a term for 'you can dance really well'." She rolled her shoulders with a huff, slapping her arms to her sides and rubbing her sweaty palms against her dress carelessly. He bowed his head as if to say thanks, glancing over his shoulder to ensure that he wasn't being watched before returning to the extraction files he had yet to decompile. Carmina, now feeling low for the killed mood, sat on the edge of the console, slouching.

**TRANSFORMERS**

"What's the matter? Your head stuck?" Lani asked softly as she strolled away from a closed-up Alexis to respond to the fighter's moaning.

Try as he might to move an extension of his body, Blitzwing's condition was too battered to do anything really, he could only twitch from the propulsion of electrical currents caused by his neglected physical condition. He was in a great deal of agony every time one of his personalities assumed control, the systems in which Blackairachnia had malfunctioned unable to do as they were now forced to do.

"I have no interest in conversing vith jou, Human." Said Icy stubbornly before groaning shrilly.

"No, please, let me help. You sound like it hurts something awful. Maybe something's jammed and I can get it out. I'm not afraid of getting my hands dirty." Lani moved forward, scaling the giant's arm carefully.

"Vhat can jou do? Zhe form of technology zhat I am constructed on is beyond jou're Human capabilities." He argued, crying out again when the parts that made up his three faces creaked and groaned with the grinding of the gears beneath. Lani stopped at his chest, surveying the layout of where she'd go from there. Not really giving herself time to think, she climbed the side of his helm, slipping very carefully on the edge of his chin plating, crouching once the rubbery bottom of her shoes managed to catch hold. At first glance, the project she confronted was daunting beyond words, making her want to eat her words from before about getting her hands dirty. She leaned down to peer beneath the curved sheet of metal that provided shelter for his personalities, slipping between them and yelping when the skirt of her dress tagged on the corner of it, careful not to rip it as she removed it.

Lani was now so close, she could smell all the burnt components, it was almost making her ill. She was now inches away from the face of Random, so close she could see his tiny optics slide across his glowing projection screens to watch her go past him. He hadn't assumed control of his body just yet, but was still very much aware of what was going on around him. Even though at first glance his sharp angled optics appeared emotionless, Lani could tell he was intense pain. His jaws locked shut as well, light poking through between them as they quivered violently from his convulsions. His optics crossed to watch her hand as it pressed between his eyes, she softly gasped when she found the texture to be entirely different from the hard plating on his cheeks. It was rubbery and not as cold as the rest of him. Lani felt the urge to scream when it slid underneath her palm, yanking her hand away to watch as it folded like material, creasing ever so slightly. Lani leaned back against the inside of the helm when she noticed his upper 'lip' vibrating with a strained clicking sound coming from inside his mouth. It then dawned on her that he was laughing her reaction to his 'skin' on the center of his face.

She ticked at him. "Oh hush. That just felt really gross and surprising is all. Now stop it, before you hurt yourself further."

Across the room, Alexis had moved to Knock Out, who watched her clean the drops of energon from his chest with a peace of seat cloth she found on the floor, obviously from one of his seats. "Get away from me, Human." He stated simply, too tired to really flick her away.

"No." She said shakily, seating herself on his thigh and sighing. "I'm not going to give up on him…"

"He's changed drastically in the last Twenty-four years, you're not going to get your old Starscream back. Peh, I can't believe he'd even take to that kind of relationship. With a fleshy no less. Disgusting."

"Maybe to you." She said quietly, leaning into his side and knowing full well it disturbed him.

"What is with you?"

She looked up at him, finding he was honestly lost with all this. "I like you, Knock Out. You're not as bad as you think you are. Sure you're a little narcissistic, but I know for a fact you haven't really killed any Humans…"

"Doesn't mean I can't change that." He snarled softly, sounding garbled with the thin line of energon dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"I know…" She dropped her head. "Still…" She patted his side lightly. "You've got so much potential to be something great, it's not even funny. At any point you could've disobeyed Starscream and not picked us up, but you did anyway, and you even protected us."

"…"

Lani found the cause of his inability. A shrapnel of metal from Hothead's cheek, no bigger than the woman, was lodged in an exposed cog between his demagnetized facial plates. "This is going to take some strength." She muttered to herself, looking to Hothead who's optic that was exposed through a cracked visor was watching her. "Uhm…" She tried to address him calmly. "I, don't really know how to say this… But you've got a large piece of metal stuck here." She winced when she heard the gears between them on a rotating arm screech as he tried to take over, mixed with Icy's screams that caught both Alexis' and Knock Out's attention. "No! No! Please, don't try to talk!"

The creaking stopped and she sighed with relief. "I promise I'll get this out, just please, none of you try to take the lead at the moment. I don't really mean to tell you what to do… But I just want to ask for your co-operation… Please?" She folded her hands to her chest consciously, looking into the single exposed optic with a tight lower lip. He then looked away from her, annoyed by her. Lani found relief that he took her seriously, and she moved between the two, jarring two fragments she assumed came from his visor and throwing them over her shoulder. A small sap of electricity caused her scream and yank her arm away from the fragment. It burned her nerves so fiercely that she collapsed to her knees. "Holy-Wow." She gagged, waiting for the spasms to subside. "That's- That isn't going to work." She gasped. "I can't work in just the light of your optics either, doesn't this helmet come off or something…?"

"It does." Icy said through what sounded like panting. "Jou must release it manually however, since I am… Incapable of doing so."

"Where can I do that?" Lani sighed, forcing herself to stand and fall against Hothead's cheek, where he emitted an irritable growl that rumbled through her whole body. "Sorry." She said submissively and lifted herself off him as best she could, still feeling quite weak from the blow.

"Between zhe faces of Random und Hothead… Zhere's is a pressure activated panel, I must press down on it in order for zhe helmet to release it's magnetic hold on my cranium. Normally I do not use zhis panel because it causes a horrible sting at times. But I doubt zhat it vill cause anymore trauma zhen vhat I'm alveady going zhrough."

"I'll make it quick." Lani said quietly, gingerly tapping a finger to another portion of Hothead to ensure she wouldn't be nailed by more electricity. When she found she wasn't be shocked witless, she scaled the side of his face, ignoring his angered protest to have a Human climbing on him. "Please work with me here big guy…" She said to him in a sorry tone. His jaws whined harshly but no vocals came as the synthesizer wasn't aligned to a general power source.

"I think I found it!" She called out, her voice echoing inside his helm. Her hand slid across an irregularly smooth elongated panel at the lip of where his helmet sealed his braincase. Reeling back, she slapped it so hard that her hand hurt, ducking when it a hiss of hot air nearly incinerated her entire face. It sounded like an iceberg on the hull of a ship as it slid forward with the release of it's clamps. She could feel the Decepticon dip his head and allowed herself to fall when she heard metal grind against metal. The harsh ship lights greeted her eyes with the clatter of his helmet on the deck. Her pupils screamed, having become briefly accustomed to the darkness of his helm and forcing her to sit for several moments and rub her eyes until they adjusted.

"Now zhen- remove zhe source of my misery with haste. I have no ability to help you at zhis point." Blitzwing groaned, feeling no relief to have the top part of his processor exposed.

"You got it." Said Lani. She reproached the item of interest with caution, dabbing it with her finger and yelping as it sent a punch of electricity through her again. "F-… Gee-Whiz!" She could almost cry as she kneeled abruptly. "It's lodged in some really high power source, I keep getting shocked here!"

"Move Human." Knock Out's shadow fell over her, his face serious as Alexis sat upon his shoulder to watch. Ignoring the mild buzz he received, he yanked the fragment from it's resting place. Blitzwing's heads had begun to spin uncontrollably, his Icy personality yelping as it did. Lani retreated with haste to his shoulder, afraid of getting ground up into the fighter's rotating systems. Now dizzy, the triple changer's head finally slowed, having gone through the locked and back building reels that needed to be depressurized and released.

Instantly, Random, eager to assume control, appeared. "Ohh my! Vhat a ride!" He then guffawed, making the women shake their heads. "Zhat was fun, can we do it again?"

"No!" Icy proclaimed almost instantaneously. "Zhat was horrific." Unable to twist his neck around and look at the medical officer, he sighed. "Knock Out, are jou capable of… Repairing me?" He sounded humiliated to ask.

Knock Out's sarcastic smirk returned. "Why of course! … As soon as I'm done repairing myself. Which I'm allowed to do, by the way, at the end of the week."

"Jou backstabbing little sissy automobile! Repair me zhis instant!" Hothead roared. "Or I'll make sure jou're so badly melted by zhe time I'm zhrough, not even zhe great Lord Megatron vill be able to identify jou! Zhen I'll discard zhat pathetic child's toy of a body into a pit of scraplets!"

"A lotta of talk, for someone who can't even flick an earth insect right now~" Knock Out said as he strolled around to the jet's front, twirling a wrench that he picked up off the surgical table beside him in the process.

"Knock Out, take it easy." Alexis said softly, causing him to roll his optics. "Please?"

"You think the 'magic' of that word is going to keep on chugging?" He crossed his arms.

"Yes." She replied with an honest smile.

"… Your happiness sickens me."

"I'm sure it does. How about this… I get Starscream to let up on your punishment, and you'll repair Blitzwing."

"I like her!" Shouted Random. "We've only met an hour ago and she's alvready taken a liking to me! Ahahahahah~!"

"Yeah, I'll let you think that." Alexis said with a smaller smile, she looked down at Lani who was walking around to Blitzwing's face, offering the multi-personality one of her gentle smiles.

"Sorry I couldn't remove it. I guess being a creature comprised mostly of water has it's drawbacks…"

"Jou got that right! You inferior insect!" Lani cringed away from the red tinted metal face with a gap in his upper dental plate.

"Okay I think that's enough." Alexis said quickly, her words almost ordering Knock Out to lift Lani from the floor and out of the triple-changer's line of vision.

"Hey! Drop zhat sorry Human back down here! I vhasn't finished vith her!" Hothead demanded.

"What exactly is it you're going to accomplish by yelling at her you moron!" Alexis shouted back from Knock Out's shoulder, fed up with the insults. "Unless you are going to kiss and make up, forget it."

"That'll be a revolting spectacle." Knock Out snorted.

"Not as much as your face." Lani shot back, giggling at his dirty look. "Hey, the door was open, I went for it."

"Next time I'll be sure to shut it on you." He rumbled.

This had sent Random into a fit of giggles.


	7. Knights of Cydonia

**Hi everyone! I'm sorry for the delayed update, but as I always say, Life first! Enjoy part One of Carnicon Crisis! Part Two, will be up, when it's done. Lol! I'd also like to thank everyone for the reviews and I apologize for the lack of responce, but I do appreciate every single one of them! Thank you very much!**

**Chapter Title: Knights of Cydonia - Muse**

* * *

><p><strong>Carnicon Crisis, Part One<strong>

The room Fowler sat in came at him just like something out of a movie, he was rested back in a reclining gray office chair which posed as a discomfort to his lower spine. The skin on one side of his face creased with the pressure of his palm, which he sank into more and more as the seconds ticked by. He ignored the pain that throbbed numbly in his elbow from pressing it into the top of the cold interrogation table. His free hand sat on the table as well, curled in a loose fist with his index and forefinger tapping it impatiently.

He'd been summoned for an undetermined reason by his superiors, three hours ago.

_Apparently_ it was to rot in the poorly air-conditioned room.

However, he had to wait no more as the door behind him out of the spotlight over his head unlatched mutedly, a darkly dressed official breezed past him, packing a series of folders beneath his arm. He settled across from the relieved but angered man.

"Well, it's about time!" Fowler said gruffly, slapping his palm down on the table before he adjusted himself into a more upright position. He rubbed his temples firmly before glaring daggers at the secrecy agent.

"Will somebody clarify exactly _what_ in Sammy Davis Junior is goin' on?"

"Officer Fowler, sorry for the wait." The man said coolly, completely ignoring Fowler's outburst. His training demanded that he did. "My name is Captain, Adrian Fredrick Samosa, head of the EIS-NBE."

"EIS? What organization is that?"

Samosa shook his head. "We're a Federal Branch, not a separate workforce. EIS stands for Extraterrestrial Interception Squad. We specialize in NBE reports, from the more common hoaxes, to the rare brow raisers."

"Let me guess, you're aware of the Transformers, then?" Fowler grumbled.

"Oh, we were informed of them around the same time you were since our Government branch is related to the arm of your employment. I can assure you, sir, we aren't here for trouble. In fact, I'm requesting your aid on a serious matter regarding the metal beings." He brought the documentation that he had underneath his arm onto the table, opening them with the lick of his finger, sorting through the sheets of gloss paper to find the essentials.

William rolled his eyes at the man's deliberant pace. His brows soon flew up when Samosa slid across a few sheets containing several dark photographs. Profiles. Profiles of some kind of creature that Fowler hadn't been familiarized with yet.

As he leaned over, his face darkened, disturbed by what he saw. Images of the creature aside, some contained bodies that were disemboweled, limbless, and splayed across the reddish sand. All within different time slots of decay. It wasn't anything the seasoned United States representative hadn't seen before.

"What.. What is this?" He glanced up at Samosa, shaking his head in disgust and confusion. Rather visibly shaken by the gore-filled photographs.

"That's what we were hoping you'd answer for us. Agent Fowler, is this one of the creatures?" Samosa slid an arm across, tapping a picture with a perfect capture of a dark and frail creature with a bald white face. It's eyes were purple and wide, looking exactly straight at the camera. It seemed posed in the distance with sharp and shapely rocks on yonder in the dim backdrop. They gave the Agent chills.

"Well, it's gotta be from the negative faction of their race, a Decepticon… Or at least that's what those purple eyes are telling me, all the Autobot eyes are blue. The rest of 'em have red eyes."

"That's all we needed to know. Up until three months ago, several Nevada residents, including some from Jasper, had vanished. So far as our records show, neither side of these battling children's toys from outer space have claimed civilian lives. This one seems to have sinister knack for it; but I can assure you, we're not going about this branding all of them at cause for these cases That's the last we need considering we've openly witnessed the exploitation of their powers on the battlefield. It's looking for something though, as specific organs are missing from the bodies." Samosa curdled his throat, leaning forward onto his elbows on the table and looking Fowler in the eye with a grave stare.

"Since the... Autobots, was it? Know you to some personal extent, we ask that you deliver these images to them for some kind of identification reference beyond you."

"I'm surprised the Big Dogs allowed this, you want me to hand over federal evidence to a bunch of _machines_?" Fowler asked with a hint of amusement, glancing down at the glossy photo he had in hand of a deceased teenage boy with red hair. His eyes dry in death and skins tuck with globs of his own DNA.

"Yes," Samosa replied with a curt nod. "Do you still remain the only one in contact with the creatures?"

"Yes." Fowler lied. "Nothin'll get out about this to anyone."

"Good to hear. You have thirty-two hours to provide us with results, and no, I don't mean that as a threat."

"And, if I don't?" He raised a brow at the man.

"I ensure nothing will comeback on you for it." Samosa worded his sentence carefully. "We just need a means of finding out what's going on with this 'rogue'. We may require the assistance of the Autobots to capture this thing before it gets worse and it begins to attack in the open on everybody. So far as we know, these attacks are isolated, occurring out on country roads or longer stretches of highway outside the city limits. Two of the victims, are campers. A couple. It seems consistent with taking out walkers or joggers during the late evening periods."

"I'll see if their leader knows anything about this thing." Fowler said, half distracted by the sickening images. He was still absorbing the revelation.

**TRANSFORMERS**

The breeze chilled Blitzwing's hardy metal hull, the wind roaring over his wings and fanning tail fins. Beside him, Starscream drifted steadily through the thin wall of clouds, both being closely followed by a much more intimidating presence. It wasn't Megatron himself, but rather a new arrival that had boarded the _Nemesis _well into the evening cycle prior. What with Blitzwing's tendency to stray from his missions due to his different personalities' interests and Starscream's untrustworthy history, this new assailing force had become a 'babysitter' in the most unpleasant sense of the word. The Seeker and Fighter dare not question their Lord's actions, however. Now was the time to assemble a mighty fighting force, beyond anything the Autobots, or their tiny planet, had ever seen. More energon was demanded with this wave of new arrivals to build Megatron's army, mines ran dry section by section in a matter of weeks and workers were pushed to their limits.

Fearful of the trouble they'd surely receive from the Decepticon warlord, the choice to keep the Humans out of mention was a road easily traveled. Surprisingly, Knockout had decided to keep his mouth shut, though the Triple Changer figured it had something to do with his repair job which was aided by the eldest female Human. She had affected him more than he realized. Now, they set out to meet up with several other Decepticon miners and the newly scouted energon deposit location.

It'd been four days since Starscream and the dusty fighter last saw the Humans. An extensive conversation took place between the German accented Transformer and the - as he found to be - eccentric Human female who's identity had been collected under the title, Lani Acaster. Throughout his observation of the fleshling Starscream brought aboard, Blitzwing could make the most out of her eyes. The fear she didn't show on her sleeve was poorly hidden behind her capturing organic optics, and in her voice. Quite obvious she wasn't going to get used to the fact that life existed beyond the creatures of her puny Planet. Not for a while at least.

Random had decidedly made the repair process more difficult for Knockout by pitching an unexplainable fit on the table and leaving his other two helm mates at a loss for attempts to calm him. They too were struggling with dreaded memories.

Although the reason was more controllable once Knockout realized he was having hallucinations of the past alterations that made him into the insane being he was. While he remained offline for most the procedure, the portions in which he remained awake for Blackairachia's crude upgrading methods had been justifiably unbearable. This especially showed itself when Knockout was able to fully assess the method of his construction down to it's finest parts.

Beyond anyone's foresight, Lani was the first to fearlessly approach the snapping trap full of black fangs, a hand shakily extended and coming to rest upon his face as she spoke to sooth him somehow. She didn't speak to him like he was some dumb animal, she spoke to him like a mother would, yet she didn't treat the panicking idiot persona _like_ an idiot. The touch instantly ceased his violent activity and he seemed more focused on what she was saying. She remained rooted to the table next to his head and spoke to him about miscellaneous subjects while the red medic hurried to finish the repairs and close him up. She even summed the gall to touch his teeth, commenting on how cold and hard they were compared to the warmth of his jet black and mostly unnoticeable softer lips. It delighted the childish personality to have so much attention rather than feel fear, that he licked her once, nearly knocking her off the table.

As he recalled this, the brief glimpse of the other brunette Human's face had made it's way to the front of his scattered mind.

Alexis, that was her name. She held a face of pride for Lani, for reasons unknown to him.

"Blitzwing, you've just strayed one-hundred yards off course! Get yourself back in line so we can get this done!" Starscream's gravelly voice caused the Fighter's steady stream of propulsion to sputter, having jerked him out of his thoughts.

"Apologies." Said Icy quietly, leaning in to rejoin the other two.

"You're not thinking about a woman are you?" Said the black Nighthawk fighter immaturely, he was only joking.

"No. Vhy vould I be?" Blitzwing sounded slightly taken aback, mostly at himself when he realized he'd been doing nothing but thinking about Lani and her companions ever since they left. Something he found fascinating about, yet he couldn't put a digit on it.

"I don't know. Why would you? I mean, as many girls as you've terrified…" The Lockheed F-117 retreated when the Fighter swiftly attempted to ram him.

"Shut up! Jour one to talk, Blacktop!" Hothead thundered. "Jou damn Carnicons do nozhing but kill jour own und I vouldn't be surprised if jou've devoured some of zhe filthy little organics on zhis ball of dirt."

The Nighthawk fighter he called Blacktop held a smirk in his voice, retaking his position beside Starscream. "Why yes! Yes we do, in fact, I got a two for one deal last night when I came across a heavily pregnant female Human out for an evening stroll. I made sure there was no mess. Loved the extra meat. And might I say you're being quite the hypocrite."

"Care to explain how?" Icy shot back, trying to hide the fact he was disgusted by the Decepticon's organic eating antics.

"Don't you kill your own kind too?" Blacktop questioned in a sing-song voice. "I mean, isn't this what the whole war is about? Some…. 'shitfight' as I hear Humans put it."

Blitzwing's COMM-link the filled with static and a booming laugh. He growled, not quite sure how to answer the Nighthawk. "Vell, yes."

"Y'know, that's the thing about us Carnicons, we don't see the point in this whole thing. None of you sorry excuses for Cybertronians would even last a minute on my planet. Even if we're related through the creator Primus, us Carnicons developed a better sense and moved off Planet to our own when the confliction started." Blacktop then transformed, his head tucking close to his frail-looking "Y"-shaped body.

Much to the dismay of his shared personas, Hothead quickly overthrew Icy and the Grumman F-14 Tom Cat broke formation, leaving an angered Starscream to dodge the reckless Jet, and transforming quickly to grab a hold of Blacktop before he could escape.

Infuriated by their behavior, Starscream quickly wrapped around to pursue the plummeting titans.

"Blitzwing! Blacktop! Cease your idiotic scuffling at once!" He screamed at them, careful to avoid the parts that sailed back at him while they continued to rip each other apart in freefall.

He finally retreated however, when Blitzwing had dismembered the Carnicon's back enough to grab a hold of his fuel line, ripping it from it's snug spot in his abdominal region and spraying the dangerous flammable substance into the air. Quick to think and running thin on options, Starscream ignited the fuel, swerved to avoid the violent burst of flames that snaked it's way along the spray trail and collided home. The explosion had effectively separated the two.

Blitzwing's body arched away from the falling Nighthawk in a trail of thick black smoke, in great pain from the flames licking around his body, having been covered in gas.

Cursing, Starscream chose to follow the stalling Decepticon Triple Changer, rather than retrieve the ignorant and combative Carnicon, who'd vanished into dried forest below, a cloud of yellow and red dust billowing out from the quaking trees. The shrill cries of terrified native birds hung in the air.

**TRANSFORMERS**

"So what the are Autobots like?" Carmina asked, partially distracted by a text from her mother. She leaned back in the front seat of the rental Jeep Alexis drove, her voice trembling as she spoke while they went over the poorly paved highway out of town.

"Far better than the Decepticons." Alexis said simply, far too focused to really explain anything, smiling when she saw the mountain that obtained the Autobot base in the distance.

"Ooh-kay." Carmina raised a brow. "So are they super nice?"

"Very, especially Optimus. He's holds much respect for people even if he doesn't know you, he doesn't talk down to you, and he's very sweet and gentle. You'll love him." Alexis answered with a laugh.

"Soundwave wasn't too bad." Carmina smiled, part of it humor, part of it terror at the recollection. "When he stopped picking on me."

Alexis swore. "Carmina, you said he didn't hurt you!"

"Woah, woah! Not like that Alexis!" Carmina raised a hand. "He didn't lay a finger on me, he was only mocking me with that recording… Thing, he does. I started calling him a VCR, I think I pissed him off." The woman laughed.

"Well, that's one way to full-fill a suicide wish." Lani said from the backseat, smiling at the taller woman when she frowned back at her. "Just saying… Hey, Alexis," She turned her attention to woman dressed in a red shirt with a pocket on the left breast. A brilliant white collar from her undershirt poked out from beneath. She wore white sun pants and a pair of dirty sneakers to complete the look. "What did you and Starscream talk about after he took you from Knockout? You guys were gone for pretty long time."

"It wasn't anything important." She suddenly sounded bitter.

"He didn't break up with you did he?" Asked Lani innocently, her words partially muffled from her finger in her mouth, chewing on her nail.

"Lani, stop biting your nails-" Carmina paused as she reached back to pull her hand from her lips, her eyes widening before she swung her head around to Alexis and braced herself on the center console. "Break up with who? Starscream?" She let out a shocked, huffing laugh. "Are you guys joking?"

"No. I'm not." Alexis sighed. "And no, Lani, he didn't 'break up' with me… He'd like to keep what we spoke about private, sorry I can't spill the beans."

A mischievous grin crossed Carmina's lips as she straightened in her seat after giving up on the pointless grab-game with Lani's hands. "You two made up and made out didn't you?"

Alexis nearly sent the Jeep off the side of the highway, her mouth agape. "Carmina! No!" She rolled her eyes with a scoff even as the sandy-eyed woman broke into crude laughter. Lani only sat back quietly, snickering while her hand braced the arm rest of the door from Alexis' previous reaction to Carmina's gutsy assumption.

"Can that laugh get anymore obnoxious?" Alexis scolded, adjusting her grip on the wheel after she entered the orange dusted terrain, speeding for the base opening and causing the Jeep to rumbling ridiculously.

"Holy- Crap Alexis! Tone it down a bit!" Lani bit out, rattling around in her seat.

"We can't be seen, I need to make a dash for it! Sorry guys!" Alexis shouted over the loud quaking of the vehicle.

Rachet lifted his head with the subtle beeping above him. Humming softly in curiosity and suspicion he tapped the controls before him, lowering the welder in his other hand and narrowing his optics when the unfamiliar vehicle caught his attention. It was roofless however, allowing him to identify the beings inside. Facial recognition software disclosed the driver as the young woman from before, but she had brought along two other females that were unable to be identified. He grunted uncomfortably, an unpleasant feeling washed over him as more Humans were about to discover their existence. Casting a glance over his shoulder, he cleared his speech synthesizer canal.

"Optimus?" Rachet inquired softly, turning his full body to the blue and red giant who was hunched over his arm, tightening a bothersome screw in his knuckle. Something he didn't find to be problem enough for Rachet despite the medic's insistent suggestion he take care of it.

"Yes?" The Autobot Leader lifted his head and leaned back, raising his gentle blue optics to the monitor. "It is Alexis…?" He stood and waddled over the large metal storage unit he was straddling.

"Yes… But she's brought other Humans, two females. Did you know about this?" He raised a black brow plate.

"I did. During our outing in which Alexis requested to speak to me in private a day before, she explained that she had two colleagues who'd been accidentally exposed to our existence with thanks to Sureshock. However, she has promised that the others have kept our place on this Earth in secrecy." He reassured the medbot.

"Optimus…. My place to question this, aside… Are you sure you can trust this Human?" Rachet asked with a shaky sigh. Kept to himself, he wasn't sure about the Autobot Leader's choices as of late.

"Rachet…" Optimus began with a far firmer tone than usual, though it wasn't exactly cynical. "I have known Alexis since she was a young girl. She was not the only Human who discovered us at that time, four others, four boys, had also been captivated by our presence. Infact, her two of companions were responsible for the first awakening of a Minicon on this Planet. They held their oaths to keep quiet about all their adventures with us, for many a year. If she indeed has placed her trust in these two, then it is a decision that I see no point in questioning, she's no longer a child of whom I've had to look after. Alexis has always retained a good set of instincts, and she's always had a talent for figuring people out in the simplest ways." He rested a palm on the marginally shorter Autobot's shoulder, offering him a faint smile. "She is an honest person, with a pure soul. You can trust her, Rachet."

Both Transformers turned their heads when the high-pitched trill of a Jeep resounded through the arching tunnel. Alexis modestly turned the Jeep, parking it snug against the rocky wall on the right. The two women exited it the vehicle carefully, lifting their small heads in wonder that reminded Optimus of the day he met Rad, Carlos, and Alexis. The smallest held a wide grin like a child, her eyes as wide as Cybertron itself.

"Ohh… My, just wow…" She said, hushed, clasping her hands tightly before her full lips. She lifted her eyes from Rachet to Prime's optics, a faint pink touching her cheeks as she gandered between them both, a blush of excitement.

"Holy Smokes." Carmina said softly, pulling strands of hair from her face, unsure of what else to say. To some extent, she could feel the much friendlier air coming off the metal giants as Alexis said she and Lani would. Though it wasn't as gravitating as Soundwave was, and that scared her inside. Was it possible to crave to see someone, or, _something_ after one day? Let alone four? Despite the honest terror she was in? It wasn't really as horrifying as she thought it was going to be, once all fell quiet. He seemed at peace with her, though that thought could've been in her mind only.

For now, she decided to settle with the sentient beings staring down at her, rather than send her brain through paranoid hoops.

Lani was first to introduce herself, shyly at that. "My name is Lani "Juno" Acaster…" She said almost too quietly, her eyes flicking to the approaching booms from behind them.

Alexis approached her side, rubbing her back comfortingly. "Be easy, Lani. It's just the others." She said softly. She glanced over her shoulder as Carmina huddled behind them.

"And…" The mocha-skinned girl licked her lower lip. "I-I'm Carmina. Carmina Burana." She bowed her head awkwardly, unsure of how to greet them.

"And I, am Optimus Prime. Leader of the Autobots." The red and blue masculine entity introduced himself with a usual friendly tone. "I would assume my dear friend Alexis has informed you of our source of intergalactic origin and our mechanical-biological make-up?"

The look on either girls' faces displayed that of befuddlement. Both then nodded slowly.

"Damn. If an adult one of them is this size, can't imagine the size of a baby." Carmina muttered, jumping when Rachet grumbled, having overheard.

"Such ignorance…" He scoffed under his breath, making her frown.

"Hey, Sweetcakes, yeah, I don't know how you guys are made, but my next suggestion would've been that you came off an assembly line like a friggin' Mazda. Which is more insulting? Instead of being a jerk, why don't you take the time to explain the process to how you guys exactly come into the world, huh?" She chided, waggling her finger at him snobbishly.

Visibly astonished by the tone she took with him, Rachet's reaction was delayed. He rested his chin atop the side of his fore-digit. "Well, this is a first." He muttered. "If you care to listen, then come, sit." Rachet then instructed, pointing to the small den area atop a flat platform, reachable by nearby stairs.

"Thank you." She said curtly, a swing in her hips with a faint vibe of dominance in her voice. "Hard to believe but there are Humans who do like to learn about something."

Alexis could only look on from between the fingers of the hand she so briskly slapped to her face. "Unfortunately," She turned her head upwards to Optimus. "Carmina isn't one for mannerisms. You'll find better luck with Lani." She pushed the smaller woman forward towards him.

The Prime shook his head. "Ah, but Rachet hasn't been one for approachable bearings either… He has… A certain dislike for newcomers of Humankind. I myself, am unsure of where it stems from."

Lani smiled at the comment, but kept quiet. Her eyes darted to the peculiar yellow and much smaller robot with what she took to be wings on it's back. It's blue eyes shifted from the others; a tall, feminine blue one, and a larger hulking green one behind it, and then down to her. It seemed surprised to see her, but she could tell by the distinct expression it held, the sight of another Human wasn't all that objectionable. She waved at it subtly, offering a soft smile.

It quickly returned the universal greeting with it's hand, beeping softly in a way that made her giggle almost out of reflex.

"Bumblebee, Arcee, Bulkhead, this is an associate of Alexis', Lani Acaster." Optimus opened his servo, extending it to her.

"More Humans, hm?" Arcee questioned uncomfortably, but she hadn't meant it in a mean way. She nodded to the short female with a lopsided smile. The Human returned the gesture, her own smile widening. She then gazed up at Bumblebee, folding her hands behind her.

"Can I just say? You're one of the _cutest_ things I've ever seen, you look like a little doll, but, a cool doll."

The comment made Bulkhead chuckle at the flustered yellow bot who spoke with a series of 'blurps' and 'beeps'. "Hey Bee, you gotta admirer!" He teased further.

Arcee only tittered silently, shaking at her head at them with her servo rested on her hip.

"He says 'Thank you'." Arcee chuckled once Bumblebee's rambling had ended. In truth, he was embarrassed and went on that 'nobody, not even a Human, had said that about him before.' However, he wasn't 'offended, only flabbergasted' by the compliment.

Lani bit her lower lip nervously. "That was an awful lot of sounds for just two words…"

"Complicated language." Arcee reassured her casually, naturally she didn't expect any of them besides Raf to understand the Bot's uncommon speech method. She raised her head to her superior when she saw that he'd stepped out of sight and was lumbering for the base entry. "Optimus?"

"I am… Going to scour the city for a while. The bandit that remains loose has plagued my processor…"

"Keep a line open, Optimus." She said quietly, her smiling had sagged into a look of concern.

He said nothing as he shifted into his Vehicle Mode, the roar of his mighty engine fading into a hollow, bellowing growl upon exiting the base.

"He's still bothered by Jack's mother, isn't he?" Alexis asked softly, not wanting to rub the situation the wrong way by coming across as nosey. None of these Autobots knew her like Optimus did. Like Hotshot, Red Alert, or Jetfire did.

"I, can't think of another reason." Arcee answered just as subtly, she too was saddened to see the great Leader so depressed.

It wasn't unusual that the Autobot was quiet, but to be entirely retracted from all around him, made Arcee wonder if it affected his performance as a leader.

Stunned her, it did, to think that at first. She ensured herself to keep that under straps. It sent chills through her internals to think that she'd doubted possibly the only savoir their kind had against the darkness of the Decepticon Legion.

She cast a look over to the den area, finding that Rachet was holding an unmistakable grin as he spoke to the strange woman, compelled and enthralled in his own story. Surprisingly, she seemed intent to listen, leaning over at the waist with one leg crossed over the other. Her sandy eyes wide with captivation, her foot bobbing loftily.

"Hm!" Arcee's brow plates shot up. "Check that out, Rachet's got himself a student."

"Oh, I'm not surprised…" Lani finally spoke up. "Carmina is a gorgeous club singer, and even though she's a 'rough-around-the-edges' kind of girl, she takes a great interest in oddball subjects."

"She sings?"

Lani nodded. "Yes, she does. It's incredible. Too bad her talent isn't realized, maybe you should look up _Sia_ sometime, she sounds much like her. But her voice is smokey, like _Adele_, make sure you look her up too. Better yet, you should have her sing for you guys sometime- Er, I'm sorry. I'm rambling like a nut again." The woman pressed the side of her hand to her brow, dropping her gaze the floor and pacing in a small spot.

"Don't worry about it." Bulkhead thundered up beside the smaller femme-bot. "I'm the dumbest one here." He grinned.

"That's _really_ encouraging, there, Bulkhead." Arcee rolled her brilliant optics. "Listen you two, we'll be back, so keep Rachet company. We've got a few other organic companions to add to the collection for the day. Optimus has dispersed the others, Alexis. There's no telling when they'll be back."

"Oh- Alright then. Where's he sent them off to?" Alexis tucked a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Rachet'll answer that for you. Sorry."

"Don't worry about it." The woman smiled. "Be careful out there you three."

"Thanks."

**TRANSFORMERS**

Blacktop spat another tree fiber from between his vice grip teeth, voracious claws parting and uprooting the trees he passed through. His boiling optics scanned the skies in search of the other aerial Decepticons. His sensorial systems had been knock out of commission for quite some time. Dropping his tiny head to look about the place in which he'd crashed, he hissed in a displeased manner.

Nothing but barren forest as far as the optic could see, which was a partially relief. The last thing he needed was to crash into a Human city limits, but this was just as worse in his opinion. They'd capture and dismantle him for sure if he stayed out here for too long. With the search for the others no longer on his processor, he hailed over his COMM-link.

"Shadow Zone."

"_What?"_ Came the distraught voice several seconds later. _"W-why are you calling me on this line? I told you not to use this!"_

"Cut the shit. That damn Blitzwing fool nearly gutted me with his flabby red face, but his own Air Command set his aft on fire, unfortunately he used my fuel line to do it. He was falling like a meteorite last I saw him. I can't fly outta here without setting myself ablaze, I've lost too much fuel. You think you could give me a lift?"

There was silence at the end of the line along with a faint white noise and soft crackling as he heard movement.

Then, _"Yeah, I'm on my way. What the Hell'd you do to set him off? Lord Megatron warned us about him."_

Blacktop smirked toothily. "I just like to endorse violence. You know I'm a very forward advocate." He cocked his head at the sounds of snapping branches behind him. "You know what? Hold that thought, I got company."

"_Easy Blacktop,"_ Shadow Zone warned, his movement over the COMM-link stilled, a woman's voice was heard in the background, it sounded like she was asking something. Telling by the echo, he was in a hall. _"See anything? Is it that incisive moron?"_

"Noth…Ing…" He answered under his breath. "Oh, wait." The Carnicon did infact see something, but it was smaller than it sounded. It stood nearly three-hundred yards away. The first thing his optics focused on was the bald white face, then down it's body, which was dark in coloration and was similarly shaped to Shadow Zone himself. Then, the scorching heliotrope optics. It's face plate was wide, mouth-less. With an elongated bird beak down it's face.

"What the _Hell_ are you?" He whispered.

The bizarre individual didn't answer, possibly because it couldn't hear him.

"_Blacktop?"_ Shadow Zone sounded genuinely worried.

While Carnicons shelled out a promise of violence, death, and their trademark voracity, like any other creature they were capable of forming bonds with those they found to be equal in power. Unsteady as it was, a six million year friendship wasn't easily fractured. He'd heard Blacktop's whisper since the Carnicon left the line open.

"This thing's uglier then I am!" He guffawed like a fool, wheezing from the strain of harsh laughter on his voice box. "Goddamn!"

Blacktop then froze, the creature tilted his head. It'd openly heard the remark he made of it's appearance, yet it remained still in it's place.

"You look of Cybertronian origin. What's your deal?" Blacktop rose to his full height as he called out to it, despite the pain that singed the nerve center of his processor. "Awful small for a Cybertronian!"

"_Blacktop, think fast. Get a screenshot of the thing." _Shadow Zone said quickly in his audio receptor. In the background, more voices could be heard, then the honk of a car. Blacktop then realized he was in the city in Holodrone form.

"Got it." He replied briskly, a faint whizzing coming from his right optic while he ensnared a visual capture. He then lifted his head when the thin and barely-able-looking creature turned to the side, stepping tranquilly through the warpath Blacktop had shredded into the forest floor during his collision slide.

"Damn, I think it's malfunctioning, it's like it doesn't even see me. Want me to pursue it?"

"_No. Stay put. How small is it?"_

The Carnicon sniggered coarsely again, the spines on his head rattling threateningly when the strange creature disappeared into the thick brush and debris, it's crackling, crunching foot trails over the forest floor gradually fading out of ear-shot. "Ten feet or so if you compare it to the trees. Can't get an accurate estimation, it's walked off."

"_Let it go. I've got a fix on your location and I'm heading that way, just glue your aft there until I do."_

"Hahah! I ain't budging."

"_You owe me for this you Bell Brain. Top it off while you're there and think about what you're going to pull out of your aft to give to Megatron for your idiocy."_ Shadow Zone rumbled bitterly.

"I know I do." He said quietly, his brow plate raising slowly when a much smaller set of crunching footsteps caught his attention. Turning his head to the right, he heard a startled organic gasp. His vision lowered and a dark grin smeared across his faceplate. The man was "middle-aged" as the Humans called it. Silvery strands blended into his faded dirty hair. He slowly retreated with mouth agape and wide-eyed, unable to get anything other than a choked whimper from the fleshy hole between his square teeth. A knobby-jointed hand raised to point in exclamation at him, but no to who? Nobody was around but the both of them.

Dropping his head, Blacktop's gray metal gum line jutted from lips, exposing the frightening and thick chopping dental fangs he bore, hissing to frighten the trembling Human further. Thick saliva-oil poured from an unseen opening in his mouth, dripping past his teeth and lips, onto the scorched forest floor. "Lucky, lucky. I was starving out here."

**TRANSFORMERS**

A deep groan exhaled from the seizing Triple Changer. His light bronzed chassis now splotched with burns, scrapes, and paint curled and chipped away from his exterior. He'd managed to put himself out through his crash landing. But his mind burned of a different sort as he forced himself up to prop upon his elbow. He wasn't sure which he wanted to rip into first, Starscream or that Pit-born Carnicon.

"Ohh…" Random nearly sounded tearful. "Vhy do I hurt so much? Zhat vas a naughty zhing to do, Starscream." His customarily cheerful tone gave way to an abrupt sense of irritability despite the childish wail in his voice. "But zhat Blacktop guy…. Vhat a jerk!" He looked down at his forearms, finding the paint had been burned away, revealing his plain silvery sheen underneath.

"My paint job!" He fretted.

"Will be the last thing you're going to worry about." Starscream seethed from behind him, causing the Triple Changer's incoherent persona to jump. The black face turned to meet his superior's ailing gaze.

Starscream's lower lip was pushed out slightly with an intense burn in his already red optics. "You _fool_." He hissed. "Do you have, even the slightest inkling of what you've done? You failed to listen to me, therefore I did what was second best. Don't complain about it now, considering I should just rip all three of your faces from that hollowed cranium of yours!" He nearly shrieked. "Those Carnicons are _not_ creatures to be easily controlled! With the way you are, I'm beginning to believe you're related to them some how!"

Icy had overthrown the sharp-eyed elfin personality and had forced himself to his stabilizing servos. "I can only serve to sate you vith a solemn und vell-meant apology, Commander Starscream. Zho I must say, jou should be avare by now zhat I cannot fully control zhe ozher two all zhe time."

Starscream couldn't really argue. Indeed it wasn't really Blitzwing's fault for his occasional outbursts. The wretch who had upgraded him clearly hadn't a clue what the Pit she was doing.

He pressed a claw to his forehead, looking over to him after a moment. "If you three do not get your nonsense straight, I will have the two savages locked away in your head removed. Painfully, if I have to. While you're at it, Blitzwing, might I suggest you get your 'disability' repaired."

Hothead pushed forward, but remained rooted to his spot. It still hurt too much to move freely, and he dare not attack the Seeker in memory of the beating he was served before. Yet he held not that of a unrefined frown, but a toothy smirk. "HA! Zhat'll be a Minicon's chance in zhe Pit before zhat day comes!"

Random then burst forth, caring to add his two cents. He sounded miffed as he spoke, even though he held a grin. "But I don't vant to go bye-bye! I can behave vhen I vant to!"

"Exactly." Starscream snapped, jabbing a claw in his direction. "You in particular, you blubbering idiot. You only _choose_ to behave rather than obey to! It's a wonder I don't rip out your face in particular. Shamefully, it won't rid your existence from Blitzwing's mind but at the very least it'll silence you. Continue to press my systems the wrong way, you insolent fanged dolt, and I will have you strapped down and removed. And I, don't, _care_, about the drawback I'll receive from Megatron for my actions!"

Random fell silent for once, but his edgy grin held steady. It was more intense than usual. Being threatened to no longer exist in his free-roam haven hadn't happened to him before. At times Hothead mentioned wanting a body of his own, with no chains to hold down his ability to satisfy his craving for Autobot destruction.

While Random was aware of his own behavior, he was prone to it in ways that he couldn't control himself. As his name held truth, he had random bouts of retardation or violence. Icy and Hothead acted as restraints for him, something his simple mind wasn't pleased with, he was unable to find the rationality in it. He didn't appreciate being scolded as a child, yet he always did something to obtain that kind of feedback.

He then thought back on Lani, and the way she fearlessly attempted to calm him when the spark-racing phantom pains that surged through him. Everything he blurted seemed not to phase her, she openly dismissed it with a gentle smile.

"_It's okay… It's going to be just fine. Just keep looking at me, and tell me about things you like."_ _She smiled softly, tilting her head to the side._

She didn't talk to him like an idiot, or a child, or treat him like he was different from one of her own.

That stunned him.

Most recoiled in fear to his daunting appearance, even though he thought he was most charming and handsomest Decepticon there was to behold! And they called _him_ the crazy one! They had to have been blind, or an epidemic of incurable bad taste in looks was about. Honestly!

Yet, here was a squishy organic creature, who was fearful of him not for his outburst and insidious ideas, but of the initial shock of his existence that her tiny Human brain couldn't comprehend. Her reaction to his distress confused all three of his personalities. She came to provide the only aid she could think of, and it fortuitously worked. The memory of the idle chatter they shared etched a happy grin back onto his unserious façade. Here was a Human he actually liked… Sort of. She even had the nerve to confront Hothead before the procedure, that was pure golden energon.

"Oh Hell no." Muttered Hothead maliciously at Random's insinuation that he'd seen a miserable creature like a Human in a different light. Icy only remained silent disgust in the back of the dark helmet, rolling his normal optic.

The fact she was admittedly cute in the face didn't escape him either. The thought alone made him swear under his breathe and want to grab his helm like his brain was being drilled into. If Starscream didn't get rid of the black face pest, there was a likelihood he'd do it himself.

"My, that's the longest you've had your mouth shut. I'm impressed. Keep at it, you might just earn yourself an upgrade." Starscream chided, crossing his arms as he noticed the Triple Changer was having a battle within himself. He then frowned, not at Blitzwing, but at himself. He could just hear Alexis' voice ringing out in his helm about him being a crude and ruthless heathen. He then smirked, she had no clue how right she was. During the flight before this nonsense exploded all over his list of 'Things To Do', he found himself missing her. If he were Human, the faint heat in he felt beneath his faceplate would have turned his pale skin red.

Icy had pulled both the outraged personas back, blinking calmly at his superior. He seemed deep in thought, it was a moment before he broke the silence. "Vhat shall ve do now?"

"We're going to go find Blacktop, that is what." Starscream snipped.

**TRANSFORMERS**

Jack's brows rose slowly as he heard the thundering trebble of a Semi out front of the apartment complex. Slowly, he lowered the TV remote to the coffee table and lifted himself off the couch. Unwittingly he stirred his mother from her nap on the cushion one over, she mumbled with a deep inhale and looked slowly to see what he was up to.

"Jack? Wha's wrong?" She slurred tiredly.

"Optimus is outside." He answered calmly from behind the cream colored curtain. "I wonder what he wants."

"Go see shweety…" June huffed after her concerned frown faded away, resting her head atop her clasped hands and pulling herself snuggly against the arm of the couch.

"Yeah." He smiled back at his mother, happy to see she was feeling better but still physically exhausted. Slipping on a pair of rubber black flip flops, he loped off the step of the front door, strolling out from under the overhang and towards the idling vehicle. He opened the passenger door as if he owned it and slipped inside.

"I'm surprised to see you here… Uh, is there, something wrong?"

"No. But I do have a few questions." He answered softly.

"Uh, sure. Shoot."

"How is your mother?"

The question hit Jack Darby harder than he thought it would. The fact the Transformer would just blatantly ask about his mother's well-being and not his own first had just given Rolltide's words a violent shove into reality.

"She's doing great, actually…. I mean, this is my _mom_ we're talking about." He chuckled. "She's built like a… Like one of you guys. She's darn near invincible… I didn't have to do anything to get her to eat the day we moved into the apartment. While I've been the chef- A pretty good one if I say so myself; she's eating like crazy since her body's demanding a lot to recover."

"That's pleasing to hear… And how about yourself, Jack?"

The boy sighed and leaned back in the seat. "I'm just… I'm darn tired. I feel a little better, but I don't know what all the FBI or whatever can do to protect us."

Optimus' engine died. "Jack, you shall be not alone with your mother in this, I _will_ not sanction such an action. Fowler and I shall work together, to prevent this dreadful event from happening to you, again. Right now, you need focus more on your life outside the terror, and suspension you feel within you and for your mother's safety, and work forward despite the difficulty."

"Yeah… Uhm… Optimus?" Jack rubbed his arm, unnerved at himself to even subject himself into the matter he was about to bring up.

"Yes?"

"_Optimus?"_

Jack glanced at his radio. "Arcee?" He inquired quietly.

"Report, Arcee." Optimus' holodrone manifested, briefly startling the boy in his passenger seat.

"_Jack's pick-up is going to have to wait, I am in pursuit of a Green 'Con. He has an organic hostage, young female." _

"Remain under guise, Arcee. Keep tailing him, I'm on my way! Jack, I must go." He looked to the boy, the faux man's eyes reflecting the seriousness in his voice.

Jack returned the expression, and nodded. As he leapt from the seat and down to the cement drive, the Semi's engine thundered to life. He turned to see him swiftly back out of the drive, partially wondering how he was able to pull off such a move with so much ease. "Get 'em Optimus!" He called, earning a strange looking from the man settled on his balcony above the drive. He could return an embarrassed smile, pointing towards the departing semi cab with a chuckle.

**TRANSFORMERS**

"You and your big trap. Do it again, Black top and I'll rip your mouth out." Shadow Zone growled as his companion released his shoulders and slumped against a pile of boulders. "I had to dump my date for this shit."

"Date? Didn't sound like a date." The shorter Carnicon teased. "I heard a femme in behind your chatter."

"Yeah well, she would've been mine had I got gotten interrupted." The luscious voiced Decepticon rolled his burning pink optics, he turned away from Blacktop, staring out in the distance at a small rural-looking town. "Hey, check that out."

"Think there are Humans to be had?" Blacktop said eagerly. He then giggled. "I got lucky in the forest, I forgot to say. One of those Human adventurers ran right into me, gotta admit he was a little gammy. The older ones don't have much in the way of juice y'know? But man, the richness in flavor… Oh yus~"

Shadow Zone quirked a brow, the words of his companion drowned out, a raunchy grin crawling along his dark faceplate while his optics closed in on a brown haired Human who wore a casual business outfit. Her hair traveled down the length of her back, dark, luscious and curly. He'd love to savor it between his digits. Her face was like that of the many women he'd seen on 'fashion magazines' covers. Perfection. As his dirty mind exploded with all the possibilities of what he could do to her, he hadn't noticed that Blacktop was tossed over his head with a yelp. It was only the impact beside him and the swirling dust that snapped him from his day-dreaming, and violently he snarled at the attacker.

His threat was soon withdrawn as he saw it to be Starscream who threw the squat Carnicon for a loop, looking none the pleased.

Behind him, Blitzwing limped in following, his red face the dominant at the moment. He sneered at the sight of him.

"Hey afthole, thanks for hurting my brother." He said with a male-esc bob of his head, it was a sign of challenge, aggression. He wasn't happy in the least to see the Triple Changer, and he wasn't afraid to let it show, even in the presence of Starscream.

"Jour velcome, jou sack of rusted slag!" Hothead retorted without pause.

**TRANSFORMERS**

Cars blared their horns generously at the speeding bright green Camaro and black striped that dived and swerved between them. It scrapped against a Mini-Van, sending the driver and his family into the highway guard rail. Luckily for the distraught kin, the large vehicle spun out to a halt after a near tip risk. Pretentiously the Camaro blared it's horn, terrifying the girl in it's cabin further. She was strapped to the driver's seat like a test subject to a table, her muscles straining beneath her clothes to break free of her confines, albeit being useless.

It shredded Arcee's spark to see the distress on her face. The skin around her eyes red from the tears that trailed downward across the length of her angular face, and her hair that was once tucked nattily away in a ponytail was windblown from the open windows on the car. The 'Con had done that simply to irk the Autobot with the hostage's screams.

"Pull over!" She barked, ramming the rear panel of the vehicle, hardly leaving a scratch. His back-end swerved as he hit the breaks, causing Arcee to overshoot her target and virtually eat pavement. She could hardly hold her alt-form, able to right herself with a tight doughnut, and she heard him chuckle like an arrogant teenager over the girl's shrieks while he spun to face her with his front end, smoke from the rubber swirling around him ominously. The red headlights were a dead give away to his allegiance, along with the dread horned icon on it's grill that haunted her optics every time she down them for recharge.

"Need a lil' help mate?"

Arcee flinched as Rolltide's red blur flew past her, catching her by surprise. The Dodge Viper raced around a scattered blockade of construction barrels that Arcee had crashed into during her wipeout. His tires screamed through smoke and burnt rubber, attempting to hip-slam the 'Con onto his side.

Blowout smirked within the darkness of his alt-form, easily dodging the ram attempt by the obnoxiously colored sport's car and pushing through the barrels, sending them off his hull and every which way.

"Rolltide! Be careful, the Human in his driver seat isn't a Holodrone it's the hostage!" Acree warned, catching up to the speeding Super Sport as he pursued the aggressive-looking sport's car.

"Got et! Sorreh abou' tha!" He shouted, his accent thickening. "Get on tha left Arcee! Dove, Dredge, and Figure are on their way, I can't get a'hold of Coldwave or Screambox!"

"Alright!" She called out over the roar of their engines blended with the wind. "I'll try my hand at contacting them! Just try to box him in!"

As fast as Blowout may have been, his smaller engine wasn't meant for performance racing like Rolltide's was, and quickly he found himself flanked by the Autobots. Hissing angrily, he pushed himself to the point where he received many warning sounds about his internal system overheating. The human girl in his seat looked about wildly for the source of the sound, babbling through her wails that she was going to die, then cursing in her language heavily. He had to get them out of town, Megatron commanded that he not be seen by other Humans. The first part of the plan went exceedingly well, his exposure to the girl was easy for the most part. But during her capture he found himself alone after the two idiotic drones Megatron had sent with him were destroyed by the puny motorcycle femme.

_Come on you simpletons, I need you guys. _He snarled within himself desperately. This was his only hope now, he needed to avoid capture just a bit longer.

"_Rolltide? Honeh? Where are ya?" _Jakknife's tender voice was filled with fret, horrified to hear that a young Human was in danger. _"Oh bless me and my slow hide! I should've chosen an aerial form! The wee-one isn't hurt is she?"_

"Take it easy Jakknife! Eh's headin' your way and the Human's fine for the most part! Where's Figure?" Rolltide answered before a grunt escaped his throat when the green Decepticon skinned his passenger door, breaking off his mirror and chipping away the bright red gloss. Fragments of glass flew into the open driver's side window, causing the girl to shake her head of the shrapnel.

"Slag! Yeh lil' bastard!"

"_Figure's with me! We're drivin' as fast as we can, one-hundred 'n' eighty-nine kilometers and closing!"_

"I hear ya! We'll try to keep him boxed until then!" He then cut the feed of communication, vengefully ramming the door and breaking off the Decepticon's mirror in return, hearing him groan with the impact. "Tha'll teach ya to damage my body-job ya lil' shit!"

"Rolltide! Hold off a little longer, we're almost out of the city's perimeter!" Acree warned, sensing the tension his voice. In a way, he was a little like Knockout when it came to his outer appearance.

"Egh!" Was the red sports car's only reply. He slowed his pursuit as the Decepticon attempted to warp his frame more, not wanting to risk injury to the Human anymore with flying debris.

"_Arcee! I see you, girl!" _Said the cocky voice of Wavebuster through her scrambling COMM-Link. _"I brought help!"_

"Who is it?"

"_The name's NutCrusher."_ Came her answer. If her face was constructed, she would've been wincing at the grittiness of his voice. He sounded like some kind of old hick. She let a frustrated yell when the strange 'Con leapt off the high-way and into the sandy earth, attempting to make a short cut once they exited the city limits.

"The 'Con is green, sports-type vehicle, gaining length between us!" She immediately directed him. Upon the horizon, her monitor registered two friendly signals, she assumed the second with an unknown P.I signature to be the newest member. As they came within range, a third, fourth, fifth, and sixth blip joined them, reading as Bumblebee, Bulkhead, Jakknife and Figure.

Sensing he was soon to be cornered, the unknown 'Con swerved to avoid the dark iron chain a transforming Jakknife flung his way, trying to hook his tires. She cursed in Cybertronian as she hit the sandy ground, attempting to right her large but feminine body.

"Nutcrushah!" She exhaled to the strange Autobot, her accent chiefly thick.

"I dun think so!" Shouted the golden Ford F-350 gruffly, wrapping around behind the pink robot in disguise and after the Decepticon. The heavier-than-usual parts that comprised of his being banged and sounded loudly, rusted gears and pegs grinding together to make an ear-wrenching symphony of age. His pug-faced sneer earned a whistle from Wavebuster, which he ignored, and instead brought forth a large hammer from the confines of his back plates, it's handle hissed upon extension, and the mallet flattening to a greater expansion. The thick tires that made up the back half of his stabilizing servos dug into the dry earth, rolling across it effortlessly and obliterating any gravel in his wake.

"Drop the girl ya punk!" He said with a Texas twang, having rolled up beside him, swinging his mallet and clipping the backend of the alien vehicle with a mighty blow. Fragments of tail light, bumper, and rear paneling frayed across the ground, being further crushed as the Decepticon broke his form. Sending the young hostage out of the driver's seat and into the air, where she was quickly captured and secured by the shaky palm of Figure.

She recovered all the while wailing like a new born at her ordeal, opening her eyes before screaming in terror at the sight of his alien robotic visage. He looked hurt at the terror she showed, scaring her not being his intentions, but it was understandable. Calmly, he raised a finger to his lips and gestured for silence, but she gave him none and continued to shriek incoherently all the while distancing herself on her rear in his palm. He grunted as her shoe collided with his nose, sighing and closing his hand around her before the Human leapt out of it.

"Please! It's okay! Take it easy, nobody's going to hurt you now." He spoke as softly as possible. Yet, just when he thought she'd reached her zenith of frantic mercurial, she went about violently squirming while her loud panic calls scrambled his audio receptors further.

"_Hwoah baby!"_ He shouted over her in a mixture of frustration and pain, almost dropping her.

"Get her out of here!" Jakknife ordered, cutting through the nonsense, she now stood tall, her hat removed and turned into the dangerous weaponry she valued and favored. Her expression was uncharacteristically tense, making Figure swallow.

"Yes, ma'am!" He affirmed, retreating with the crying Human on foot, Wavebuster tailing him.

Jakknife sighed tiredly. She was getting too old for this, then, she frowned at herself. Ahead of the Autobot and her companions, the Decepticon had recovered and now stood before them imposingly despite being no bigger than Bumblebee. She could tell he was young, very young. Just old enough to escape the concept of being a sparkling, however.

As she looked into his boiling red optics her senses became jumbled about him. To any- Or at least _most_ Humans, these beams of red light would hold no emotion, for they could not read them as one of her own could.

All they'd see was just a pair of red eyes of death and fury. His had coped a certain curiosity within her; they seemed struggling, troubled, and desperate despite his offensive physical pose.

"Who are you?" Demanded Nutcrusher, highly displeased at the youngster's actions.

"My name, is Blowout." He replied with a shudder. The chase had taken a toll on his systems. "I… I want to become an Autobot." As he spoke, his body drew into a more relaxed state, showing that he was now open for attack, submissive before them. Yet his eyes remained un-recycling upon them, but he didn't seem to try and intimidate them with that gesture, which lead them to believe he was afraid to look away from them because of his distrust to them.

Several of the Autobots exchanged dark, befuddled expressions, all a bit startled by this simply-stated information.

Although he too was quietly stunned, Rolltide's edgy expression softened. Had they found another like him? Sure, there was a better way for this to be come about without endangering the secrecy of existence the Autobots had conformed to, but the potential of another Autobot to the team was a savory thought. They'd have another hand against this ridiculous war, and perhaps, just maybe, he'd feel as good as Rolltide did when he made the decision. He'd no longer have to fear their Leader, he'd receive the praise he so much deserved from others, even if he failed. He'd feel warmer, safer, more welcome, than he would residing into the dark coldness of the _Nemesis._

"And why in the Heat of Hell should we believe a wilily statement like that?" Nutcrusher snarled, encroaching on the Decepticon's space gradually, his hammer still at bare.

"Nu'crusher, wait!" Rolltide had managed to cough out, ready to ensure he'd not mess up this rare and vital opportunity with his temperament. "Do ya know 'ow often thi' type of event happens? Almost nevah! The predictions for et erh astronomical. Please, lowah your weapon."

The old Autobot slowed, dropping the hammer with a grumbling sigh, knowing he was right about that. He looked back at the slightly shorter reptilian Cybertronian, holding a grim look. The red Autobot nodded understandingly.

"I know, but remembah, I was a 'Con once too." Rolltide reasoned quietly, raising his hands and waving them subtly in a soothing gesture. "Easy… You know the rules, never leave a Bot in the cold, there's always a chance of atonement. En ya know I'm ever grateful for mine…"

The bray of a deep horn startled them somewhat, all Autobots and the young Decepticon looked back towards the sound like a beacon, finding that it was Optimus racing over the horizon and frightening pace for such a large vehicle.

Observing the situation, he found that his compatriots all stood with weapons withdrawn, their postures however told him that he was to remain on guard about the strange subject before them who bore the intense green paintjob. Shifting into his robot mode, he perused his footing till he came to a halt, stepping past the others wordlessly. All parted, respectful of their spearhead.

"Optimus Prime." Blowout stated in a offhanded way and nodded his head. He showed no aggression, no disrespect, he was selective about the tone he took with the Autobot Leader which wasn't a common thing among Decepticons.

"State your name." Optimus nearly commanded, visibly disturbed at the news of him capturing the Human. He was aware that she was in good care as he passed by Figure and Wavebuster tending to her as gently as they good. He ordered that it'd be best she if were taken to a hospital instead.

To the surprise of everyone, the young Decepticon kneeled, dropping his face. "My name is Blowout. I was sent by Megatron to be a spy, within the city limits, however, I sought to this opportunity to become one of you. To become an Autobot. I was assigned to expose myself to that Human, and therefore took the chance and used it as a means of gathering your attention. Please, I wish not to operate under Megatron's reign any longer. With my humblest respect," He removed his rifle from his back, casting it into the dirt and disarming himself. "I wish to ask to join you in stopping him."

_That speech can't get anymore honest…_ Blowout thought cynically to himself.

"Those are some awful upfront words." Arcee crossed her arms, but her voice held no hostility. In fact, she was taking all she had heard into consideration. His plea wasn't as forward as she would've like, he wasn't begging like Rolltide did during his 'swear to servitude' speech. Her gaze shift to Optimus, awaiting his answer. All of them did, and so looked to him silently.

His heavy brows were dropped into a frown and he stared unmoving at the Decepticon, who'd managed to raise his face and show the Autobot that his optics held the truth. He was unafraid to look him the face, and that was something that churned Optimus' internals with admiration and carefully placed unease. Part of him wanted to deny the Decepticon, and yet when he looked to the Ex-Con beside him, he wanted to leave open the possibility the young one would bloom like Rolltide did. Right now wasn't the best of times to take a risk, what with the new invasion taking place. Mumbling indiscernible things to himself, he glanced over at Arcee and Bumblebee who had stepped up behind him.

Bee's large, gentle young optics couldn't have gotten any wider. He wanted this possibility to be snatched up no matter what. "I…" Optimus turned back to Blowout, who remained patient, his optics were quite soft now. And astoundingly, they'd changed to a purplish hue. Transition already, and the Decepticon wasn't even aware of it. That was all he needed.

"Arcee, Bulkhead, restrain him…" He shifted his gaze from his two comrades to the Decepticon. "Blowout, do not take this personally."

"I do not, Optimus Prime."


End file.
